


Coming Home

by Jmetropolis



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Drama, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Future Fic, Getting Together, M/M, Multichapter, Nanase parents - Freeform, Romance, Tachibana parents - Freeform, Tumblr: makoharufestival, tachibana siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-09 17:38:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 22,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jmetropolis/pseuds/Jmetropolis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka discovers there's only one way he can truly be free. A story of love, friendship and the familial bonds that make or break us.</p><p>This story is written using prompts from the Makoharu Festival on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Closet

There had been only a handful of moments like this in his relatively short life, moments when the normally unfazed, shameless Nanase Haruka had wanted the ground beneath his bare feet to open up and swallow him whole. The moment at present ranked at the very top of that list of unpleasantries. In fact, he couldn't remember a time he'd been _more_ mortified.

Haru watched in abject horror as he stood next to his bed with his hands in front of him attempting to cover up what little modesty he had left as his mother pulled the crumpled sheet off the bed, chiding him for having still been in it just a few minutes earlier at ten past noon. Her actions inadvertently set the small, plastic bottle of lube that had been hiding in the sheets into motion. Haru watched helplessly as his mother's sharp eyes followed the seemingly in slow motion trajectory of the offending object. It bounced once after hitting the carpet, rolled over several times before settling at Haru's feet, as if it were a loyal dog coming back to its owner. Desperate to get it out of sight, Haru literally swept it under the rug with his foot as if in that one act he could cause his mother to forget what she'd just witnessed.

As thoroughly and excruciatingly mortified as he was, Haru was hoping, actually praying, willing his mother to think it was a solo job. Because the alternative would just be too --

"Makoto." His mother's voice was like a vat of ice cold water being poured down Haru's bare back.

". . ." Makoto seemed to have misplaced more than just his clothes. He'd seemed to have also misplaced his tongue somewhere in Haru's closet and, judging from his line of sight, somewhere near his large feet.

The taller boy was at a loss for words and Haru couldn't really blame him. Neither one of them had expected Haru's mother to barge into Haru's apartment unannounced. They had had other plans for the long, lazy weekend, mostly centered around Haru's bed.

As shocked as Haru was at the events unfolding before his eyes -- he was in his birthday suit, in the same room as his mother and his also naked lover -- his mother seemed to have retained her usual calm veneer. This was not to say that she wasn't extremely upset with the situation. The way she tightly pursed her lips when she wasn't speaking -- like she was holding back words, like she was afraid of what she would say if she stopped biting her tongue -- told Haru all he needed to know about how she felt on the subject of this afternoon's discovery.

His mother was not the type of woman who'd cause a scene. No matter the circumstances, she always managed to keep her composure, to keep up appearances, at least when they were in public. Haru remembered his grandmother's funeral all too clearly -- distant relatives, family friends, mourners expressing disbelief at the dry eyes of a devoted daughter. The fact that she wasn't yelling at Haru, told him exactly how she regarded Makoto, as an outsider, an intruder in her son's life, in her life.

"Well, you've certainly gotten bigger since the last time I saw you," she said to a cowering Makoto as casually as if she were commenting on the temperate weather they'd been having and not pointedly alluding to his anatomy. Not missing a beat, she turned her attention to her son, "Get dressed Haruka. Your father is waiting for us at the club."

 

 

* * *

 **AN1:** My apologies to Mrs. Nanase for the character assassination I'm about to commit. I'm sure she's a lovely woman and I hope to finally catch a glimpse of her in season 2 (if one is in the works).

 **AN2:** [shameless plug] This story was written for the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/). If you like it and you have a tumblr account, please "like" each chapter [here](http://jmetmisc.tumblr.com/). *cough, cough* Also, kudos and comments would be lovely. Thanks!

 **AN3:** My intention is to fill all the prompts as part of one multichapter fic, but I found it impossible to write this story in the order the prompts have been assigned. This means you will not be reading this story in chronological order. I plan to reorganize the chapters in their proper order once the festival is over. In the meantime, some of the chapter updates will seem out of place, but they are all part of the same AU. Please bear with me and don't let that discourage you from following the story.

 


	2. Losing Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru tries to see the silver lining in his situation and fails miserably.

If by "waiting," Haru's mother had meant that Haru's father was putting near the 18th hole, sharing a joke with his work colleagues over a round of beer, then yes, Mr. Nanase had definitely been "waiting" for his family to arrive at the club.

In fact, if Haru didn't know any better, he'd say his father seemed positively oblivious to his and his mother's presence. If Haru didn't know any better he'd say that his mother had made up an excuse to get him out of his apartment and away from Makoto as quickly as possible.

Haru alternated between staring at his tea and staring at his mother. She looked so familiar, yet so unrecognizable at the same time. Tokyo had changed her. Tokyo had changed both of them. Back in Iwatobi, Haru's father had been in charge of overseeing a factory owned by a large multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo. His mother had been a housewife, much like Mrs. Tachibana. In fact, they had been friends. The young, first-time mothers had found they had had a lot in common and, for a time, were inseparable. It's the reason Haru can't remember how he and Makoto first met; he can't remember a time without Makoto.

Haru's swimming had garnered a lot of attention in the small seaside town of Iwatobi and for a brief moment, Haru's mother had taken a keen interest in her son's swimming lessons. But she quickly lost interest after realizing she couldn't micromanage her headstrong son's swimming, the way she micromanaged her husband's career. Haru's mantra, the phrase "I only swim free," was coined and minted out of that struggle.

Now, they were living in Tokyo. His father was entrenched in the corporate office of that same conglomerate, the heir apparent, being groomed to takeover the reigns once the aging chairman finally steps down, or is pushed out, as his impatient mother likes to put it.

Haru's relationship with his mother has never been easy. It had, however, been amiable at times and turbulent at others. He'd never been close to her the way he'd been with his grandmother, but for the most part they had co-existed. Haru had never been a people-person and his parents, despite their familial relationship, weren't very close to him. In fact, he felt more at home in the Tachibana household than he did in his parent's large, Tokyo penthouse.

For the most part, she'd been ignoring him, as they sat at their usual table at the country club while they watched his father play golf through the large floor to ceiling windows that separated the lush golf course from the dining area. His mother occasionally waved to or briefly chatted with the women who walked passed their table to pay her a social visit. Haru supposed they were the wives of the other executives at his father's company. He'd been introduced to these types of women countless times, middle-aged, painted faces, hair perfectly landscaped like topiaries. He supposed they were attractive, if you were into older women, which Haru wasn't. They were exactly like his mother. Well, like his mother was now that she was in Tokyo.

Occasionally, during a brief lull between visitors, his mother would turn her attention to him.

"Haruka, drink your tea. It's getting cold." Short, curt sentences. She had been addressing him this way since they got here. Well, in truth, she had been addressing him this way since his apartment. It was all she had managed to get out, since that unfortunate incident.

He wanted to point out that if his tea got cold, the wait staff would just bring him a new cup, the way they'd been fawning over hers since she got here, ignoring her own teacup in favor of chatting up acquaintances.

When she wasn't speaking to him, Haru settled for staring at the back of her head, having finally given up the charade of trying to follow his father's golf game. Haru couldn't even pretend to understand the game. His father had once tried to teach him, telling him it was how he conducted business with the westerners. But the elder Nanase gave up rather quickly after the younger Nanase couldn't even feign interest.

Haru started counting the different kinds of sugar packets on the table. He was tempted to gather them up and build a tiny fort the way he and Makoto used to do when they were kids and Makoto's parents would take them out to restaurants, but he was pretty sure his mother would frown at him.

"Haruka."

Every time his mother addressed him, Haru held his breath. It wasn't the best way of telling her -- far from, in fact he'd like to take back the whole sordid incident -- but now that she knew, now that it was out in the open, the way it was in the Tachibana household, Haru felt a strange sense of relief.

"Pass the sugar-substitute please. And sit up straight."

Haru sighed as he began to wonder if she was waiting for his father to arrive so they could have a family discussion. He supposed that made more sense.

Haru wasn't left to wonder long. His hopes were dispelled when a woman named Mrs. Yamato paid them a visit with a girl in a pastel pink headband and a matching tennis dress following closely behind her.

Haru was used to being introduced and reintroduced to middle-aged ladies since he'd moved to Tokyo, but something about the way his mother introduced Mrs. Yamato and her daughter Mei told him he'd be seeing these people again.

"Haruka. Mei-kun will be starting Todai next year."

No one had been more surprised than Haru when he'd received his own acceptance letter from the country's top university, one he'd never even applied to. At first he'd thought it was a prank, he'd suspected Nagisa and his surprisingly advanced photoshop skills.

Haru's lackluster test scores and his desire to be at the same university as Makoto, had ruled out any top-tier schools, not that that was something he was even remotely interested in. Yet it had somehow worked out for both parties. Haru had learned that he had no trouble keeping up with the curriculum now that he was no longer distracted by the eye candy in the school desk beside his own the way he'd been since he'd discovered that puberty had been very kind to Makoto and one of the world's most prestigious universities had learned that it had inadvertently recruited a world class athlete for their less than prestigious swim program.

"I'm sure Mei-kun would appreciate it if you could give her a tour of the campus, Haru."

Haru stared at his mother in disbelief.

"I haven't been there very long," he muttered in the general vicinity of the shy girl cowering behind her own mother. Evidently, Haru wasn't the only one who found Mrs. Nanase to be overbearing at times.

"Nonsense Haru- _ka_ , classes started in April. There's no need to be shy."

Haru turned his attention to the woman seated beside him. He found blue eyes the exact shade as his own staring back at him and he knew there was only one thing he could say, "I'm free on Tuesday."

What he really wanted to say was: _Mom. I'm gay! Or, at the very least I'm in love with my bestfriend. My male bestfriend._ Unfortunately telepathy didn't work on his mother the way he and Makoto could have lengthy conversations in a crowded mall without anyone hearing them.

He wanted to scream this at the top of his lungs, but he knew better than to embarrass her in front of her country club friends or the waitstaff. Instead, he sat there in an overstuffed chair listening to his mother and Mrs. Yamato arrange his life like the harrowing events of earlier today hadn't happened.

Haru began to wonder if there was anything that could crack his mother's stubborn denial about the nature of his relationship with Makoto. A few hours ago she'd found her son's male lover, naked and fittingly enough hiding in the closet. Yet here she was arranging a personal tour of Todai for this Yamato Mei person like she was a freaking nakōdo.

Haru didn't have to guess where he got his stubborn streak from. And if she wasn't going to address the six foot tall, sandy haired orca in the room, Haru would bring it up himself. Two could play at this game.

"Well?" He asked after the Yamatos had left, taking with them the last vestiges of Haru's sanity and patience as well as his hopes that his father would show up.

"Well what Haruka-kun?" Her mood had suddenly been uplifted. The fact that it coincided with the scheduling of the Yamato Mei university tour date wasn't lost on Haru.

"Aren't we going to discuss it?"

His mother paused and for a brief moment Haru worried that she was going to pretend it never happened. As much as he too wished her walking in on them today had never happened, he wasn't going to sweep Makoto's existence under the rug, the way she seemed to already.

"There's nothing to discuss Haruka-kun. Drink your tea, dear. It's getting cold."

 _Unbelievable_ , Haru thought as he glared at his teacup willing it to spontaneously combust from the sheer anger burning inside him. He certainly couldn't glare at her that way, so he settled for taking his frustrations out on an inanimate object. The whole situation seemed hopeless.

 

* * *

 

 **AN1:** This is my entry for the Makoharu Festival prompt "Hopeless." If you like it, please click on this [link](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/74366378760/challenge-losing-hope-user-jmetropolis-rating) and "like" or reblog the piece on tumblr. Thanks!

 **AN2:** The references to Japanese culture/life in this chapter come from internet searches, sorry for any inaccuracies


	3. Meaningless Without You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru and Makoto have a routine, but Haru’s parents have other plans for their son.

"What do you mean we can't hang out today. But it's Sunday." Makoto protested into the phone's receiver as if the days of the week meant something, as if the little routines they'd developed, the small life they'd managed to build together mattered to Haru's parents.

Haru could envision the conversation with his parents now. The one they'd had this morning over breakfast when Haru was unceremoniously evicted from his own apartment.

"Haruka. Your father and I have decided to sublease your apartment in Komaba. You'll stay with us in Kakinokizaka. It seems silly to have you living alone when we're both in Meguro."

Haru had stared at his mother in disbelief.

"It's not polite to gape, dear." She had chided him as if he remotely cared about propriety.

"What about my stuff?"

"It's over there." She had gestured towards the dark hallway.

Haru had leaned forward and craned his neck so he could see outside the room. Sure enough, there had been a nondescript cardboard box at the foot of the back staircase that he'd somehow failed to notice on his way to the breakfast table that morning. It was filled to the brim with what was apparently everything he owned. On closer inspection, he had noticed the black lycra from one of his jammers poking out through the gaps created by the overlapping flaps.

He'd hoped the driver, who'd undoubtedly been sent to do the dirty work while Haru had tried to fall asleep in a bed that wasn't his own, hadn't thrown out his most prized possessions, oversized t-shirts he liked to sleep in belonging to a certain oversized bestfriend turned boyfriend.

"Now, I know what you're concerned about. Your apartment was so close to campus and you won't be able to walk to class anymore."

Public transportation had been the furthest thing from Haru's mind, but that hadn't stopped his mother from babbling on while his life was being upended.

"Don't worry, dear. Your father's arranged for the driver to take you to school and _bring you right back_." She had accentuated the operative words as if her meaning wasn't already clear. Mrs. Nanase was as cryptic as her son was direct. She spoke in code and he was always blunt and to the point. Still, Haru never had trouble understanding her meaning, even if her intentions and motivations were at times baffling to him.

Haru had turned his attention to the man who'd "arranged" for this new mode of transportation. His father's face had been buried in this morning's paper, obviously intent on avoiding the whole situation. His act would have been more convincing if the hard-nosed, no-nonsense businessman hadn't accidentally picked up the society section of the paper, religiously devoured by his wife like the last melonpan before a fast.

Haru wondered where in that conversation exactly had Makoto expected him to interject the part about how his parents couldn't sublease the apartment because it was Sunday and he and Makoto had a routine. On Sundays, Makoto would come over to Haru's apartment with his laundry bag in tow and they'd wash their clothes together in Haru's washer-dryer combo unit. Haru would cook for Makoto and they'd play video games and while Makoto was distracted, Haru would snag another shirt for his ever expanding collection, preferably off its owner's back, and then Makoto would spend the night because really, that was the real reason for doing all that other stuff to begin with.

He had felt a longing ache that could only be homesickness in the pit of his stomach and in a last ditch effort to regain everything he had so very recently lost, had turned pleading eyes to the woman who'd given birth to him. She smiled at him. She actually smiled at him, a smug, self-satisfied smile. She seemed proud of herself, as if she'd just solved a big problem. A six foot, 161 pound problem to be exact.

Haru had learned a lot about his parents in the past 24 hours. He'd learned his mother was a dictator and that his father was a coward. He'd also learned that in the blink of an eye his apartment was gone and he was back to living with his parents again, something he hadn't done since he was 16 and his grandmother was still there to run interference. More importantly, he didn't know when he'd see his boyfriend next.

"Without Haru. Sundays are meaningless. I want to be with Haru." The voice on the phone brought Haru back to the present.

Makoto was right. Everything was meaningless unless they could share it together. Haru sighed into the receiver; he needed to figure a way to get out of this mess.

 

* * *

 **AN:** This is my entry for the prompt "Meaningless Without You." If you like this chapter, you can vote for it [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/74501864084/challenge-meaningless-without-you) by hitting the "like" button or reblogging it. Thanks!


	4. Left Out

Haru sighed as he looked at the cardboard box that was now sitting on the floor of the room his mother kept referring to as "Haruka's room." He might as well unpack it, he thought.

Yesterday after that seemingly interminable lunch at the club where neither one of them ordered any food and Haru and his mother argued over the temperature of his tea and after that the joyless, silent car ride to his parents' penthouse, there had been a brief awkward moment, after it became clear he'd be spending the night, when neither he nor she knew which one of the empty, cavernous guestrooms was supposedly his room.

Haru carefully folded the crumpled up jammers that had been haphazardly stuffed into the box like the driver had been in a hurry, before placing them into the top dresser drawer, the one most people reserved for underwear. _This is just temporary._ He kept telling himself as the contents of the box slowly began to disappear. He placed his plastic dolphin bath toy on the shelf above the sink next to his toothbrush. He just needed to talk to them. That's all. He needed to get his feelings across, to show them how much Makoto meant to him, how much he loved him. _They'll understand_ , he tried to assure himself. But Haru had never been good with words and his parents had never been good at seeing the whole picture when it came to their son. He had barely told the person in question how he felt, at least not verbally. Now he wished he'd found a way to bare his soul, but then again they'd never needed words between them.

Last night was the first time Haru had spent the night at his parents' Tokyo penthouse. When he was living in his childhood home in Iwatobi, they'd always come to visit him. It wasn't very often, the last time had been the Ōmisoka before he and Makoto had started university, but his parents always made the trip and not the other way around. He'd visited them once before that, about a year after they'd moved to Tokyo, but it was part of a college tour and neither he nor Makoto had needed a place to stay. It was back when Haru and Makoto had thought that they would both be attending Seijo. Now that he lived in Tokyo, he occasionally dined with his parents at their home or at the club on the condition that mackerel would be on the menu, but he'd never once spent the night.

In the end, she had gestured to the bedroom closest to where they were both standing and Haru was glad to discover it had a large ensuite bathroom where he proceeded to soak and sulk for the remainder of his miserable evening in a whirlpool bathtub large enough to fit three sumo wrestlers or four Harus and a Makoto.

He thought about his old swim club, about how happy they'd all been back at Iwatobi, about how he and Makoto were supposed to be college roommates this year, how they were supposed to be in the same university. Instead, he'd gotten an unexpected letter from Todai and he parents had instantly provided for a one-bedroom apartment in Komaba and Makoto had had to scramble for last-minute student housing arrangements and ended up sharing a tiny apartment in a seedy neighborhood with four other freshman, who were basketball players, no less. The five giants were packed in tight like a can of mackerel.

Haru's short fingernails scraped the bottom of the box. It was now empty. Conspicuously absent was any trace of Makoto's presence in his life. All the oversized t-shirts were gone. The occasional pair of shorts he'd left behind, the green spare toothbrush, the travel sized contact lens solution, the extra pair of large orange mittens he'd once brought with him on a shopping trip because he knew Haru would forget his, their matching leather bracelets were all missing, not to mention the rather intimate things Haru had kept in the top drawer of the nightstand next to the bed.

It was all gone. Left out of Haru's life like he no longer needed them. Like he no longer needed him.

 

* * *

 **AN:** This is my entry for the February 6th prompt, "Left Out." I talked to the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/) folks and they said it was okay to update my story on AO3 even though the prompt for this chapter hasn't happened yet. What I intend to do is update the story in chronological order and submit the prompts (out of order) to the Makoharu Festival as they become due. In case anyone would like to vote for this chapter on the MH Festival tumblr, here is the [link](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76026467069/challenge-left-out-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw). Thanks for reading.

 


	5. Surprise

"I submitted your university application." His mother commented as she lit another candle and added more incense to the holder in front of the portrait of Haru's grandmother.

Haru, who'd been kneeling beside his mother praying in front of the ornate wooden cabinet that served as the family altar, opened his eyes in shock and stared at her.

He really shouldn't be surprised at his mother's confession, although he didn't even want think about how she had handled the interview portion of the application process. He supposed she probably got the driver to impersonate him, the way she got him to do all of her dirty work. Although the admissions committee must not have been looking too closely. The driver was getting long in the tooth. The man had to be in his 30s and couldn't convincingly pass off as someone in their late teens.

Haru can't help but think that things would be infinitely better if his grandmother was still alive. She had always understood him, accepted him for the tightly-strung, sensitive child he had been. And she had adored Makoto, had encouraged their friendship. She had once told Haru that Makoto was good for Haru, that he brought out the best in him. He can't know for certain how she would've felt about her grandson's pursuit of a romantic relationship with his childhood best friend, but he likes to think she would've been supportive.

The driver, like the penthouse and the various other household employees, had been a Tokyo acquisition, trappings of a life Haru didn't care for. They had a modest house in Iwatobi that Haru loved. One his parents still owned and hadn't gotten around to selling yet. If Haru had his way, he would want to live in that house. It was on the ledge of the rōka of that house overlooking the garden that he and Makoto had shared their first kiss. It was in the kitchen of that house where Haru had disastrously tried to teach a hopeless Makoto to cook only to reach the mental conclusion that it didn't matter if Makoto ever learned because Haru would always be there to take care of him. It was in the living room of that house that they had clumsily touched for the first time and it was in his bedroom in that house that they had been free to explore the depth of their bond.

"Why?"

"I thought it would be best for everyone, if you went to a different university than your friends from Iwatobi."

Haru knew exactly who his mother meant. The phrase "friends" may have been plural, but Rei and Nagisa were still in their last year of high school and Rin had opted out of higher education and was furiously training for the upcoming summer Olympics. It wasn't like Haru had a ton of other friends. Ever since the incident, Haru's mother had refused to say Makoto's name or to acknowledge that her son was especially close to one friend in particular.

"Why?"

"You seemed too attached to your friends last Ōmisoka, when your father and I paid you a visit."

And there she went again surprising him.

" _You knew_? Even back then, _you knew_?"

"You're not always so subtle, dear." This was the closest his mother had gotten to admitting the situation.

Haru tried not to blush. He and Makoto had been dating for sometime before that, but that past winter break from school, just a few days before his parents' visit, was the first time they had taken that final step. Nagisa liked to tease Haru and Makoto that they were like an old married couple, but when it had come to stuff like that, things took their own time in developing. The fact that they were both guys was about the only thing that was unconventional about Haru and Makoto's relationship. When things had finally turned romantic between them, it took time for Haru to resist the urge to go for a run every time things got a little bit heated and it took a bit of time for Makoto to stop being so nervous he'd turn into a quivering mess, so they did what they had done their entire lives, they took things at their own pace, even if it did cause Rin to call them a couple of love sick school girls.

"What about my test scores?"

". . . Well . . . being that your father is an alumnus and his company had just committed to making a substantial donation, they were willing to overlook a few numbers."

 _Unbelievable_.

As long as she was in the mood for talking, he might as well ask the question that had been nagging him since he got here.

". . . Why did you go to my apartment, that day?"

"Your doorman had mentioned you had had a lot of visitors lately." This wasn't entirely true. The only person who visited Haru's apartment was Makoto, although he _was_ there quite often.

"You bribed him to spy on me." Haru voiced the obvious.

"He was eager to be of service."

 _Unbelievable_. At this point nothing his mother did should surprise him.

". . . Haruka." It was rare that his mother hesitated about anything and for a brief moment Haru felt a small glimmer of hope that she was actually considering his feelings for once, maybe even feeling a bit of remorse and then that small glimmer was snuffed out. "I went there to talk some sense into you. I didn't know you had company. I didn't know you'd be indisposed."

Haru signed as he resumed his prayers. It took every ounce of self-control not to slam his head against the tatami in frustration.

* * *

 **AN:** This is my entry for the February 5th prompt "Suprise." You can vote by "liking" or reblogging it here.


	6. Jealous

The dreaded Tuesday Tour of Todai had arrived. Haru waited in the backseat of his family's town car, stationed on the curb of a crowded street in the bustling metropolis.

He looked up and was met with the driver's interested gaze staring back at him in the rear view mirror. Haru quickly looked away. He didn't know what to make of the expression on the older man's face. _Was it curiosity, concern?_ Haru had expected a look of disapproval and disgust, after all, the man had riffled through his nightstand drawer a few nights ago. It wasn't exactly a mystery to the household staff why the family's only son was back to living under his parents' roof.

The swimming prodigy had never been good at eye contact, so as a means of avoiding further inadvertent interaction with the driver, he pretended to look out the window and feigned interest in the row of cars that were starting to pile up along the wide, tree lined avenue like a clogged artery. This time, Haru's own bored reflection stared back at him on the tempered glass pane.

The car sat idle, parked in front of a high rise in a tony neighborhood much like his parents' place. When the girl in question finally came down, she wore a matching sweater set, pedal pushers and a headband all in the exact same shade of blue as a certain swimmer's eyes. Around her neck, in a complicated knot, she wore a scarf from a western designer that Haru vaguely remembered Rin sporting on his first trip back from Australia.

As he gave Yamato Mei the obligatory tour of the underclassmen's campus, Haru couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealously creeping up as complete strangers gave him and Mei approving looks, making assumptions and arriving at conclusions they would've never jumped to if Makoto were here beside Haru, instead of a pampered princess.

Makoto had visited Haru at school a few times before. The campus was down the street from Haru's old apartment and Makoto was at Haru's apartment often, whenever he could take a break from his own studies and make the long trek across the city. It was something Haru actively encouraged. It was the least Haru could do. After all, Makoto was crammed in an apartment with the better part of a basketball team, not that Haru was jealous, or anything.

The couple had treated the campus like a park. They had napped underneath the sakura trees over by the tennis courts, had shared lunch on the grassy knoll outside the student center, although, not nearly enough times, Haru now realized. They had even jogged here together, or rather, Haru had tried to jog while Makoto got winded and fell behind. They had strolled the same shady walkways, he and Mei were ambling through now. Yet when people saw two guys walking together, they assumed they were friends, maybe even close friends. They were incapable of seeing the bond that had been forged since before either of them could remember, the love that had bloomed out of a childhood friendship. Now that he was accompanied by a member of the opposite sex, he couldn't help but notice the knowing, appreciative smiles random girls gave to Mei and the approving nods he got from other guys. To the people surrounding them, it was a given. They simply assumed he and Mei were together.

The driver pulled the car up to Mei's building and Haru did the polite thing and walked her to the front steps of the marbled lobby.

"Thank you for spending the day with me Nanase-kun. I had a nice time." She smiled at him, but her gaze was focused somewhere in the vicinity of his chin. "Would you like to come up for some tea?"

Haru decided enough was enough. Mei seemed like a nice enough girl and he didn't want to give her false hopes that this would be going anywhere.

"I'm seeing someone." As always, he was direct and to the point.

Haru briefly looked at the girl and noticed her thin, furrowed brows. As a way of letting her down more gently, Haru elaborated. ". . . Mmmakoto and I have been together since high school."

He chanced another look at her and to his surprise she seemed relieved.

Mei must've picked up on Haru's own bemusement because she too felt compelled to explain.

"I'm also seeing someone. He works as a stock boy at his family's grocery store near my school. That's how we met. My friends and I would stop there to buy snacks after class. My parents do not approve of him, of his background. He's not one of us," she confided. It turned out Haru had made his own incorrect assumptions about Mei.

". . . Do your parents not approve of your girlfriend either?" She asked.

It was a common mistake, a byproduct of having a girly name and one people often made about Haru.

He knew he could just leave her to her own assumption, he knew his mother would prefer that this remain a family matter, but he was tired of keeping Makoto under wraps, tired of denying who he was, who they both were.

"Makoto is my boyfriend."

"Oh . . . I see." She reflected on this for a moment.

"Then . . . we are not so different you and I. I guess we're both in the same boat," she observed. Mei smiled up at Haru, this time meeting his eyes. It was the one, pleasant moment in an otherwise bleak start to the week. It felt good to tell someone he was in a relationship with another guy and not have them deny his feelings.

* * *

 **AN:** This is my entry for the prompt, "Jealous." Please "like" or reblog it from the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75136604675/challenge-jealous-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw/) tumblr. Thanks!

 


	7. Secrets

Haru returned triumphant from his meeting with Mei. He had an uncharacteristic spring in his step as the ding of the elevator announced his arrival at the Nanase residence. Unlike the units below, the two-story penthouse apartment had its own designated elevator that opened up to the genkan.

Once inside the apartment, he went out of his way to take the back staircase by the kitchen in hopes of running into his mother on his way to his bedroom.

"Haruka-kun. Come here, please." _Mission accomplished._

His mother was sitting at the head of the family's large mahogany breakfast table with a slew of notecards spread out before her. He recognized some of the characters handwritten in her elegant calligraphy and deduced that she was working on some sort of seating chart.

"It's for the luncheon," she responded, as if she too could read his thoughts. "I'm hosting one next week at the club."

He could tell it must've been important to her, because she was absorbed in the task at hand.

"Sit down Haruka." She gestured to the empty seat beside hers. "Tell me. How was your date with Mei-kun," she asked, not even bothering to look up as she moved the names around on the table like some sort of strange card game.

Haru felt smug. He was even in the unaccustomed position of having to resist the urge to smile a little bit. His mother's ill-considered plan to replace Makoto had failed. The girl his mother had tried to set him up with wasn't even interested in him, better yet, she was already taken.

"The tour went okay. But," he paused for maximum dramatic effect, "I don't think I'll be seeing her again."

"Oh?" She halted, looking up at him through her reading glasses and raising a carefully penciled-in eyebrow, "why is that?"

This was the part Haru was really looking forward to, he was relishing it, although with his unexpressive nature and limited ability to demonstrate outward emotion, it was hard to tell. Makoto would've known, Haru was sure of it, he could always count on Makoto to understand him, even when others didn't.

"Mei," he mentally drumrolled, "has a boyfriend." _Ta Da_ , he added in his head. Whoever said Haru didn't have a sense of humor didn't know him very well.

"Oh _that_ ," she sounded inexplicably relieved, "Yes. Mei's mother was really distressed when she found out." She poured him some tea from a porcelain set that was on the table without asking whether he wanted any and went back to playing with her cards.

"You _knew_?"

"Of course dear. I don't see why you're getting so worked up about it. He's a cabbage merchant," she chuckled dismissively.

"His family owns a grocery store," Haru corrected. His voice was calm, but on the inside he tasted bile. He wanted to scream at her. More importantly, he was getting ahead of himself. "You tried to set me up with a girl who already has a boyfriend." _Something Mei and I have in common_ , Haru thought resentfully.  

"Oh Haruka," she said, putting down the card in her hand and taking off her glasses. "Don't be childish. These things have a way of working themselves out. I'm sure Mei is a reasonable girl. If you insist on still seeing your friends once in a while after you've married, I'm sure she'll understand. She'll be very accommodating to you, dear, if you extend her the same courtesy. The way I see it, it's a win-win."

There went his mother again, the grandmaster chess wizard always several moves ahead of everyone else. Not for the first time, Haru thought that the tiny tyrant would've made a great general or a corporate raider ruthlessly conquering a boardroom, if only she'd been born a different gender.

Women of his mother's social standing were raised a certain way. They were raised to be obedient and submissive to their husbands. Of course, his mother didn't have a submissive bone in her body. Yet she had managed to successfully trapeze between society's expectations of her and who she really was. She was smart and calculating and cunning; she played chess while everyone else played checkers. The others vying for his father's position within the company didn't stand a chance. The elder Nanase's meteoric ascent into the executive ranks of the Tokyo conglomerate was due in no small part to her. She was the one who'd seen an opening in moving to the small, sleepy town of Iwatobi and turning a long-forgotten factory into a leading producer within the company. She was the one who'd seen the opportunity in moving to the Tokyo office, in currying favor with the aging chairman and his wife. Yet she was relegated to the sidelines, an invisible hand sculpting an illustrious career that could never be her own. It wasn't that his father didn't have business acumen. Mr. Nanase was a brilliant man with a head for numbers, but it was under her guidance that he had shone and gotten noticed. It was because of her that he stood out in his peer group of equally qualified men with large ambitions.

Surely she'd be able to see that their situations were not all that different. Haru too had certain gender-based societal expectations hoisted upon him through no fault of his own. He was expected to like girls, to get married, to father children. But just like his mother wasn't wired to be a traditional housewife, he wasn't wired to live that kind of life. In fact, the thought made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't imagine a life without Makoto.

After several minutes of Haru visibly pouting, she finally addressed him again.

"Oh Haruka don't be difficult, you'll end up like Cousin Yuzan," she warned.

Cousin Yuzan had been his mother's cousin. He was a bit of a cautionary tale in their family. Whenever the kids did something wrong or got out of line, they were always warned that they'd end up like Cousin Yuzan.

". . . I'll get sent to live on a farm somewhere?"

"Haruka don't be ridiculous. Grown men don't get put out to pasture like an old horse. He was banished. Thrown out of his parents' house. Never to be heard from again."

Haru had never met Cousin Yuzan, the man had been long gone before he was even born, but some of his older cousins had known him, or at least they claimed to have to impress all the younger kids. As a kid, Haru had pictured Cousin Yuzan as an eccentric old kook with a long, white beard living in the countryside herding goats. In reality, Yuzan had been a few years younger than his mother.

". . . what did he do that was so bad?" This was the part of the story that had never been clear to Haru. He and his cousins had always been admonished not to be like Cousin Yuzan, but none of the adults ever said what Cousin Yuzan had done that was so terrible.

"He insisted on living outside social bounds. The stake that sticks out gets hammered down, Haruka," she warned.

"What does that even mean?" Haru asked, thoroughly confused. She was starting to sound like Ama-chan, his old homeroom teacher and swim club supervisor.

"He wasn't interested in dating women." This was his mother's way of saying Cousin Yuzan was gay.

"That's not so - -"

"Oh, Haruka, be sensible," his mother sounded exasperated as she cut him off. "Think of everything you'll be giving up. You'll never marry, you'll never have children. _I'll_ never have grandchildren. What kind of life is that?" She pleaded.

He remained unmoved by his mother's speech, Haru would give up swimming if it meant he could be with Makoto. It was true that he and Makoto could not get legally married here like in other countries and that it was impossible for them to have biological children. But the alternative, some marriage of convenience with a girl like Mei, was unthinkable.

"Mother just wants you to be happy, Haruka."

"I'm happy with Makoto. Only Makoto."

"Oh! Don't be ridiculous, Haruka. Drink your tea." It was his mother's way of telling him this discussion was over.

* * *

 **AN1:** This is my entry for the prompt, "Secrets." I have a feeling Mrs. Nanase would have a ton of those. She may be a terrible parent, but she's a lot of fun to write. Please remember to "like" or reblog the prompt from the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75683230594/challenge-secrets-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw) webpage. Thanks for reading! 

 **AN2:** In researching this chapter I found out that some Japanse brides wear a headdress called a [tsunokakushi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunokakushi). Its purpose is two fold: (1) to hide the bride's "horns of jealousy" and (2) as a symbol of the bride's intention to become a gentle and obedient wife. Oh and Ms. Nanase's saying about the hammer and the stake is a real saying. She's basically telling Haru his life will be easier if he blends in and doesn't stand out.

 


	8. Hurt

Haru stared out of the floor-to-ceiling window of his now bedroom. The view of the city at night would have been breathtaking if his heart wasn't so heavily burdened. Yet, despite his melancholy mood, a small, rare smile crept up on his lips when he thought of his scaredy-cat boyfriend and how he'd likely tremble at being up so high if he were here, standing behind him, resting him chin on Haru's head.

Makoto had always considered his fearfulness to be his biggest character flaw. It was something he fretted and worried about. It was a side of him he didn't like showing to anybody, especially the twins. But it had never bothered Haru. Even at a young age, Haru had assumed the role of Makoto's protector. Of course, back then Haru had been the taller of the two. Makoto didn't need to be brave because Haru would be brave enough for the both of them. And maybe it was the separation talking, but at the moment he couldn't think of one thing that was wrong about Makoto. There had been times in the past when Haru had complained that Makoto was bossy and that he always got his way. It was part of Haru's personality to be easily irritated even by someone as thoughtful and selfless as Makoto. But at this moment, Haru couldn't think of the reasons why he'd groused all those times about the younger boy. At the moment, Makoto seemed perfect.

A week had passed since his move here and all he wanted to do was see Makoto's face.

He had talked on the phone to Makoto once already that afternoon, while his mother was out of the house at her hairdressers, but it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. He wanted to be in Makoto's presence, to take in his scent, to feel the weight of his gaze, the warmth of his smile, the thrill of his touch. Haru, who hated talking on the phone to begin with, now looked forward to the infrequent moments when he had a dial pad in hand and some privacy so he could hear that voice again.

When he and Makoto had come out to Makoto's parents, it had been early on in their budding romantic relationship. Makoto had begun feeling guilty over the few stolen kisses they'd shared, over the not so innocent sleepovers. This wasn't to say that they had jumped into bed right way once Haru had found the courage to properly confess. Things had a way of developing at their own pace between the two of them, of brewing on a slow burner until the moment was just right, like the perfect cup of oolong. In the end, it was Haru who had done the confessing because Makoto had convinced himself that his feelings couldn't possibly be reciprocated. But once the hand holding, the longing gazes, the one-sided smiles took on a more overt meaning, Makoto began to fret. He had always confided in his parents and hated keeping secrets from them.

When they did tell Makoto's parents, it was over dinner at the Tachibana residence, on an evening when the twins were on an overnight trip at school. Of course they were supportive. Makoto had the best parents of anyone Haru knew. As far as Haru was concerned, Makoto had won the parental lottery at birth. They weren't surprised, either. In fact, they had been expecting it and were just waiting for Makoto and Haru to tell them, when they felt ready. It had ended up being one of Haru's favorite memories because Makoto had been so happy at being accepted by his parents for who he was.

They knew that eventually they'd have to tell Haru's parents. But Haru was dreading it. His parents were the opposite of Makoto's parents. His parents had never been understanding when it came to anything, especially their son. In the end, he and Makoto had decided to take the safest route. They would wait until they'd both finished university and found jobs before telling them. Of course, that wasn't exactly how things had panned out.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, he had tried to come out to them properly, multiple times. But they didn't want to hear it. They kept trying to push him back into the bag, back into the closet. And Haru was left feeling the sting of rejection, the pain of disapproval.

From Haru's vantage point, the situation seemed hopeless. His parents viewed his relationship with his boyfriend as some sort of stubborn streak, some hitherto unexpressed, late-teenage rebellion.

He thought about just walking out, but he didn't have a place to stay. It wasn't like either he or Makoto had any money or even jobs. And while his parents were well-heeled, an inheritance was something that became yours only after they were gone. And knowing his mother, there would be strings attached to that as well. Makoto lived in a tiny apartment with four other very large guys. They were bursting at the seams as it was, and while Makoto would never turn him away, Haru couldn't possibly show up at their doorstep with a nap sack in hand. There was some truth to his mother's kooky warning about Cousin Yuzan. Without his parents' support, Haru would have a hard time finishing school, he'd have a hard time finding a good job, one where he could support himself and Makoto. He might even be relegated to the margins of society, he'd be ostracized, forced to take up whatever dead-end job he could find as a cook or a driver.

Haru sighed as he moved away from the window and towards the large bed. It was getting late. He'd try talking to them again tomorrow. While he was stuck living under their roof, he thought he might as well get something accomplished.

* * *

**AN1:** This is my entry for the February 7th prompt, "Hurt." Here is the [link](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76026556190/challenge-hurt-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw-ao3) for anyone who wants to "like" or reblog for the Makoharu Festival.

 **AN2** : This is good point to mention that I have 24 prompts left to fill and only 2 weeks to do it. All the prompts must be complete by Valentine's Day. The good news, I guess, is that you'll be seeing a lot of updates. The bad news is that I'm going to be very busy. So, fair warning, some of the prompt fills might be short.

 

 


	9. I Need to See Your Face

Haru was weaving through the throng of people in the crowded student center. He was in a hurry to get to swim practice, his one glimmer of light in an otherwise bleak existence.

Haru blinked. For a split second he thought he was hallucinating. For a split second, he became seriously concerned that living with his parents was actually making him lose his mind.

He was confronted with a pair of green eyes so familiar to him, yet more beautiful and more vibrant than his own memory had been capable of conjuring up.

"Makoto."

"I'm sorry Haru. I know your parents don't want us to see each other, but I just needed to see your face."

"Makoto wait." Haru tried running after him, but in the blink of an eye, the taller boy disappeared into the sea of students all rushing to get home before dark.

* * *

 **AN1:** This is my prompt fill for "I Needed to See Your Face." You can "like" or reblog it from the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75260682320/challenge-i-needed-to-see-your-face) tumblr. Thanks!

 **AN2:** Next update will be longer, promise.


	10. Locked Up

Seeing Makoto's face at the student center last night nearly broke him. Ever since he'd been imprisoned on the top floor of a Tokyo high rise apartment, all Haru had wanted to do was see Makoto's face. Yet, seeing him yesterday had made the pain of forced separation feel so much more intense.

Haru turned the knob of the faucet to shut the water off with shaky hands.

It had been getting harder and harder each day to get out of the tub without Makoto and after catching a glimpse of him last night, Haru had decided there wasn't any point in getting out of the tub, in getting dressed or going on with his day.

"Haruka?" His mother knocked on the sliding door for the umpteenth time that morning. The doubt in her voice made Haru smirk as he sunk further into the large whirlpool tub. It was as if she was questioning whether he could possibly still be in there, as if he'd somehow disappeared. If only he could pull off that parlor trick.

She'd been outside his bathroom door all morning keeping vigil ever since he failed to show up for breakfast and she'd discovered that the door to his bathroom was locked.

"Haruka. You're going to be late for your afternoon classes." She jiggled the door handle as of she hadn't checked all morning that yes, it was indeed locked. Haru blew bubbles into the water as he sighed in frustration. At least she was no longer holding out hope that he'd still make it to his 11:00 AM class.

"Haruka. Open the door this instant." And there she was again talking to him like a child. She'd alternated between pleading with him and yelling at him the entire time. He was giving her the silent treatment and had refused to speak since this whole tug of war started.

"Haruka-kun. Please open the door. I'm hosting a luncheon at noon for your father's company. The driver's on his way to pick me up and I'm expected at the club in 20 minutes." Her voice cracked and it was that vulnerability that made him cave.

"Then go!" He spat the words out at the large, locked sliding door between them, instantly angry at himself for being weak and breaking the vow of silence he'd kept all morning. Come to think of it, he hadn't spoken to her last night at dinner either and, although he hadn't planned on how long he was going to keep this up, he thought he'd be able to hold out at least 24 hours.

Still. He wasn't oblivious to the relief in her voice when he finally spoke. He hadn't meant to imply what she was likely thinking. He wasn't going to do that. He wasn't cruel. He knew in her own way she loved him, even if she had a special gift for making him miserable. If he'd known this was what she was imaging when she was met with dead silence from the other side of the door, he would've spoken up much sooner.

"It's not what you think. Now go." His final words to her must've gotten the point across, because she left him alone. There was no need be over dramatic about it. He wasn't going to do anything drastic, although his current existence was painful.

He was left alone to soak in the tub. His thoughts marching in quick succession one after the other, bumping into each other and tripping over themselves. Each vying, clamoring for his attention until he felt overwhelmed by them.

There wasn't a clock in the bathroom and unlike Makoto, he didn't wear a wrist watch, but judging from the window behind him it was mid-afternoon. Enough time for her to get back from that lunch-thing she was talking about. Enough time for both of them to pick up their weapons and resume their battle again.

Like clockwork, there was a knock on the door.

"Yes, I'm still here! Now leave me alone!"

His mother's constant jiggling of the handle earlier must've loosened the lock, because this time the door slid open.  
Haru's blue eyes widened in surprise as he looked up to see an extended hand, his heart instantly froze at the sound of his own name.

"Haru."

"Mako--" Before he could finish the last syllable of the other's name, Haru's lips were seized by a familiar pair, his mouth was flooded by an impatient tongue and swimmer's lungs prolonged the kiss.

In the end it was Makoto's extended right hand, it was always Makoto's hand that got Haru out of the water.

* * *

 

 **AN:** This is my entry for the "Locked Up" prompt. Please remember to vote by "liking" or reblogging the story [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75486667742/challenge-locked-up-user-jmetropolis). Thanks!


	11. Our First (Place)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Makoto reveals a plot twist, but Haru's too distracted to notice.

A fortnight. That's how long it took for Haru to get back to living on his own again. Well, not exactly on his own. 

"I guess you're not easy to live with, huh Haru?" It was Makoto's attempt at humor, at diffusing what had been a traumatic situation for the both of them. Mrs. Nanase never made it to her luncheon, she had gone in search of Makoto instead.

In truth, the past two weeks hadn't been good for _anyone_. Haru and his parents were like oil and water. Trying to live under one roof again as a family, no matter how large said roof was, had failed miserably.

Haru's old apartment was long gone. It had been subleased almost instantly. Its choice location, a stone's throw away from campus, was too good to pass up by any well-heeled undergraduate and there were no comparable apartments vacant in the vicinity this late in the semester. Instead, their new place was two station stops from Haru's university and about six or seven stops from Makoto's, they hadn't mapped it out yet. In any event, Haru didn't care about the longer commute. He was just glad his nightmare had come to an end.

He looked up as Makoto crossed the threshold of the front door, toeing his sneakers off at the genkan as he balanced the last of the cardboard boxes against his hip.

It was all still so surreal to both of them. A week ago the situation seemed hopeless, two weeks ago it had been mortifying. Now, it was everything they both could've possibly wanted.

Most of the stuff that they'd moved into the apartment this morning was Makoto's. The gentle orca was such a sentimental sap that he had kept every keepsake of their relationship, every torn ticket stub, receipt or matchbook that had commemorated some milestone in their courtship. Now that he finally had some space, and was no longer confined to living with four other guys, he could finally take his things out of the storage unit he'd been renting.

"It sure was nice of Yamaguchi Yuzan to help us with the move today," a winded Makoto commented looking for a place to set down the heavy box in his arms.

"Who?"

"Your parents' driver." Makoto responded matter-of-factly, his tired arms evidently deciding that the floor underneath his feet was the best place for the cardboard box.

In that moment it occurred to Haru that he had never bothered to ask the man who had chauffeured him around for two weeks his name. Everyone just called him "Yama-kun," so Haru had just assumed that was his name. Yamaguchi was his mother's family name, surely Makoto knew this, but it was also a common name. Yuzan however . . . .

Haru did not have time to complete the thought. Just then, Makoto wiped his upturned brows with his forearm, setting into motion a bead of sweat that slowly made its way down the taller boy's face and was just about to reach the juncture between his jawline and his neck when Haru got the uncontrollable urge to trap it with the tip of his tongue.

Haru pounced like a large cat capturing its dinner. The boy now beneath him hadn't seen it coming, tripping over the box he'd just set down, the back of his head landing with a loud thud just shy of the step that divided the genkan from the rest of the apartment.

Haru could taste the salt on Makoto's skin as he took a deep breath, his swimmer's lungs desperate to hold in the scent he'd been deprived of for far too long.

"Haru wait!" A scandalized Makoto cried out.

Haru pulled back immediately. He hadn't anticipated Makoto's protest. He'd thought that they were on the same wavelength, he'd thought that Makoto would agree with him that two weeks was too long to be apart from each other this way. Haru's head was beginning to fill up with doubt. _Were they starting over? Had Makoto expected him to take things slow again, to ease into the things that used to occupy so much of their time together? Had the two weeks they'd been apart reset the clock on their relationship?_

Makoto chuckled, easily reading his best friend's thoughts after a lifetime of practice.

"The front door's open."

Haru looked up and sure enough he could see the carpeted hallway that separated his front door from his neighbor's.

In one fell swoop, the dark haired boy pushed himself off of Makoto's still-supine figure, slammed the door shut, turned all the locks and put the chain in its holder in case anyone else decided to pay them an unwelcome visit again.

Then, he turned his attention to Makoto and right there on the step that led to the rest of the apartment, his world was reduced to just that one person.

* * *

 **AN1:** This is my prompt fill for "Our First."  If you'd like to reblog or "like" the story for the Makoharu Festival, you can do that [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75484950833/challenge-our-first-user-jmetropolis).

 **AN2:** Yay! We finally get to a happy place in this story. I should warn you that the chapters that follow are pretty much rainbows and kittens, but don't let that discourage you from reading the story. Please continue to read, there's more to follow.


	12. Cuddle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Makoto gets mushy.

It was the morning after they had moved into their first apartment together and despite an entire night entangled in sheets and long limbs, Haru was not ready to let Makoto go.

Usually it was the other way around. Usually it was Makoto who was the cuddler and Haru was the one who was eager to get out of bed and into the bathtub, or better yet, the pool. But he had been deprived of Makoto for far too long.

Usually, Makoto was the big spoon and Haru played the part of the reluctant little spoon, trapped in the much longer arms of the bigger spoon, until the itch to get up, to submerge himself in water up to the top of his lips and just below his nose was too much to take. But this morning, Haru was holding Makoto for a change. It was like his senses are on hyperdrive, like they were making up for lost time. Haru wanted to appreciate ever little detail about this glorious morning. Seeing Makoto's messy bedhead again, the familiar, confused smile he wore the moment he regained consciousness and opened his eyes, Haru didn't want to miss any of it.

Makoto liked to say that if they hadn't picked marine mammals to be their mascots as children, that if they had picked land animals instead, that Haru would be a hedge hog because he was always so bristly and difficult to touch. The amusement in the taller boy's voice had told Haru that Makoto very much liked hedge hogs, that he liked Haru just the way he was, all prickly and irritable. When Haru had asked Makoto who he would be, the taller boy had mulled the question over for a moment before answering. "I'd be the farmer, who watched you from a distance, admired you for your extraordinary abilities and appreciated you for the work you did in my garden."

* * *

 **AN1:** This is the prompt fill for "Cuddle." The Makoharu Festival link is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75683036172/challenge-cuddles-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw) if you'd like to vote or reblog.

 **AN2:**  Don't let this chapter scare you, there's actual plot in most of the upcoming prompt fills, promise.


	13. Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru plans for the future and finds a reason to swim again.

Haru's brief stint at his parents' penthouse had taught him one thing. If he wanted an unencumbered life with Makoto -- and he very much did, in fact, it was the only thing he wanted out of life -- he needed financial independence. Being tethered to his parents' purse strings meant his apartment and the life he'd crafted could disappear at his mother's whim, the way they had the first time just a few short months ago.

He had no interest in working for a company and didn't have the people skills he needed to climb the corporate ladder. He supposed he could easily recruit his mother to get him a job and help him move up in the business world the way she had done for his father, but that would require more parental involvement, not less, and it would defeat the purpose of this exercise in independence in the first place. Also, Haru could think of very few things that would be less painful than having his mother run his life.

Makoto's pursuit of a degree in early childhood education wasn't going cut it either. Although he had never discussed it with Makoto, he felt an obligation, a deep-seated desire to provide for the younger boy, to protect him and keep him safe. He supposed he could fall back on art, maybe get a job at a graphic design firm. But art wasn't something he was passionate about, it was something he was just good at, like carving those wooden Iwatobi-chan keychains nobody wanted. So he did what he always did when he needed to think. He hit the pool. Hard.

He couldn't just quit college and train for the Olympics the way Rin had done it. For one thing, Rin's mother supported her son's dreams and wouldn't have had a fit the way his surely would and Haru desperately needed to keep his mother happy if he wanted to keep his very nascent living arrangements with Makoto. So he worked the system. He came in early before swim practice and was the last one to leave the pool at night, not that that constituted a change in Haru's behavior. He'd always been more than a little water-obsessed. But now he swam with a purpose, with a goal in mind. It didn't take long for the beleaguered, balding old coach -- whose pool year-after-year had been stocked with brainiacs, but no actual swim talent -- to notice a change in the obstinate young man who claimed to only swim free. In the blink of an eye, talk of medals and breaking world records surrounded Haru, much like it had in the two prior times he'd decided to swim competitively. But this time his focus was different, this time his motivation was something else entirely. There was a gold medal at the end of the path Haru was envisioning for himself, but unlike Rin, it wasn't his end-goal. It was a byproduct of the real dream he wanted to achieve.

* * *

 **AN:** The prompt was "pool" and surprisingly enough, I had a real hard time filling it. Please continue to read. Thanks for the prompts and kudos. The link to the MH festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76422214257/challenge-pool-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw-ao3). Please vote by "liking" or reblogging. Thanks!


	14. Mind Reader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto has a 3-way call of sorts.

"Moshi-moshi," Haru's bored voice answered the lime green mobile on the table in front of him.

"Ah! Hello Haru. Is Mako home?"

"There's no 'Mako' here. You have the wrong number. Don't call again," the taciturn swimmer responded with unconcealed annoyance.

"Eh? Ha--" The confused voice on the line wasn't able to get another word in before Haru promptly hung up the phone.

"Haru!" the boy beside him chastised.

But before Haru was done glaring defiantly at Makoto for the reprimand, the phone rang again.

This time the taller boy was quicker to answer. Taking advantage of their size difference, he quickly stood up to full height, effective taking the phone out of the shorter boy's reach.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry about that Taiga. Haru can be a little difficult sometimes. . . . I see. . . . Yeah, it's just that he doesn't like the nickname." Despite his apologetic words, it was obvious from the tone in Makoto's voice that he rather liked a jealous Haru.

It had been two months since they'd moved in together, but Makoto's old roommates still hadn't gotten the memo that Makoto didn't live with them anymore. Worse yet, they had the nerve to nickname Makoto, _his Makoto_. Haru frowned in profound disapproval.

"Eh? This morning?" Makoto asked the interloper on the phone as Haru narrowed his eyes.

"Ah! Sorry Taiga, Haru just reminded me. We're going phone shopping today." Makoto had only recently convinced his technology-challenged boyfriend that cellphones were more than just fancy alarm clocks.

"Later today?" Makoto looked at Haru who blew black bangs out of his face in a huff.

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea. Haru is thinking that we'll probably be going to several stores before we decide which phone to buy. He doesn't want to be rushed."

In Haru's opinion, Makoto's old roommates only ever called to invite him to stupid things. No doubt the purpose of this call was to arrange another pick-up game of basketball. Haru had gone once or twice, mostly to keep Makoto company. Mostly to protect what was his, but he didn't see why they kept inviting Makoto. It wasn't like Makoto had some great size advantage. Among those giants, he was just average height. It wasn't like he was very good at basketball, either. He got winded easily. He couldn't even keep up with Haru during a morning jog.

Haru had some idea, of course, why Makoto's old roommates invited him out. He was a nice guy and fun to be around. Haru wasn't oblivious to Makoto's obvious charms, but Makoto apparently was. He couldn't see that his kindness could easily be misinterpreted and it didn't help that he was so easy to look at and had a smile that could and often did turn heads. As Rin liked to say, it was like Makoto didn't own a mirror or something, he was completely unaware of how attractive he was.

Haru pouted, silently voicing his impatience.

"Uh, I have to go, Taiga. Haru's telling me we're leaving soon. Thanks for the invite. Maybe some other time. . . Okay. Bye."

"Haru!" Makoto turned his attention to the froward boy in front of him as he ended the call. "Haru was very rude to Kagami-kun," he chided the way a parent would scold a petulant child.

The uncharacteristic sternness in Makoto's voice sent a chill down Haru's spine and reminded him that sometimes when Makoto got his way, when Makoto _had_ his way, it wasn't such a bad thing. He was suddenly reminded of why Makoto was often compared to a killer whale. He was reminded of their considerable difference in sizes, of how Makoto outweighed him by a good twenty pounds and how easily capable he was of pinning Haru down against the mattress and making him sink further in with the heft of his movements. He was reminded of how, despite Haru's peak physical condition now that he was training in earnest, Makoto was perfectly capable of winding Haru as well, wearing him out and making his body feel that good kind of soreness afterwards.

Haru frowned and looked to the side, turning his face away from Makoto. It was more a way of concealing the heat that was coloring his cheeks than anything else.

"Haru is also adorable when he is jealous," Makoto mused, unable to keep the smile he reserved for the boy in question at bay.

Haru folded his hands across his chest and grumbled.

"Haru is even more adorable when he is angry," an indulgent Makoto noted, pecking the shorter boy on the cheek.

Haru didn't need mind reading to know exactly what Makoto was thinking as the orca planted another kiss, this time his boyfriend's lips lingered on the juncture where Haru's jawline met his neck.

And soon they both forgot all about unsolicited phone calls and planned shopping trips.

* * *

 **AN1:** Yes, Makoto's former roommates are _those_ basketball players. I love jealous!Haru and I think Makoto does too.  

 **AN2:** The prompt was "mind reader," you can "like" or reblog it for the Makoharu Festival [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75683286666/challenge-mind-reader-user-jmetropolis-rating).


	15. Deserted Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Haru reminisces.

He had a ten-hour flight ahead of him. His obnoxious neighbor to the left of him had already put in his earpieces and was listening to music so loudly that Haru would've been able to make-out the words if they weren't in English.

As he buckled his seatbelt, reclined his seat back and leaned his head against the window, Haru remembered the day he properly confessed to Makoto like it was yesterday. Well, "properly" in his own roundabout way that is. In truth, it had been his second attempt at completing the task. His first, had been the night before regionals when mid-confession, Haru had been suddenly struck with the unfortunate urge to run. The fateful day came sometime later.

His head had been resting comfortably on Makoto's thigh as the taller boy sat on the floor, his long legs hanging over the wooden ledge of the rōka in Haru's house in Iwatobi. The shoji were open, allowing the soft breeze to come in from garden, gently rustling the soft, dark locks that fell over Nanase Haruka's face.

There was amiable silence on the part of the smaller boy, while the taller boy prattled on.

To the casual observer it would seem that the darker haired teen had dozed off, while the sandy haired youth had been left to talk to himself.

Makoto and Haru were deeply absorbed in a conversation, even if only one of them was doing the actual speaking.

"That's when Ren said he'd pick me over chocolate if he could only bring one thing to a deserted island. And then they started fighting over who got to be stranded on an island with me," Makoto chuckled, unable and unwilling to keep out the smile in his voice whenever he spoke of his younger siblings.

Makoto gazed down at his best friend, bestowing upon the raven-haired teen the smile he reserved just for him.

He gingerly brushed dark bangs away from the paler boy's face, revealing deep blue eyes which rivaled the sky and the sea. His touch always reverent like he was acutely aware of their size difference. His touch always careful and calculating as if it would disclose long-held and carefully protected secrets in an unguarded moment

The boy in question made a small noise in protest, the one he reserved for whenever Makoto fussed over him. The taller boy chuckled, because although Haru liked to feign annoyance, the mere fact that he was allowing Makoto to touch him meant it really didn't bother him in the first place.

"I bet I can guess what your answer would be," Makoto mused, his hand absentmindedly lingering in Haru's soft locks.

"Hmm. Let's see," he paused as he considered the situation, "You'd already be surrounded by water, so it can only be mackerel, right?"

Haru furrowed his brow in thought for a moment as if he too were contemplating the question and then he answered it. ". . . Makoto."

"Hmm? What's that Haru?" Makoto looked down at Haru responding as if Haru had called out his name, instead of voicing his answer to the question that had been posed.

It was a rare moment of miscommunication between the two, but Haru didn't miss a beat.

"Stay."

"Haru?"

As if he was making up for lagging behind in keeping up his end of the conversation, Haru wasn't done talking, "Spend the weekend here. With me."

"Haru!"

Haru reached up to cup Makoto's flushed face with the hand that was closest to Makoto's long torso. He wanted to get the meaning across, to convey his feelings in a way that wouldn't be misinterpreted as just friendship.

". . .We could create our own deserted island right here. Just the two of us."

The fact that Makoto leaned into the touch, brushed his lips against the palm of Haru's hand, told him everything he needed to know.

* * *

 **AN:** This is my prompt fill for "Deserted Island" and the obligatory flashback chapter, because come on, there had to be one. I really wanted to start the story with the chapter where Haru's mom almost walks in on them. Obviously most of this chapter takes place chronologicaly before that, so it had to be a flashback. It couldn't be helped. Next chapter will advance the story, promise.  The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76253367265/challenge-deserted-island-user-jmetropolis).


	16. Grace Under Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto watches Haru from the stands.

Haru entered the aquatics center for his first event and the noise of the crowd was deafening. He looked back at his flightmate and roommate for the next two weeks and was not the least bit surprised to see him hamming it up for the cameras. He noted that Rin had worn headphones for a reason. That dubstep Haru had heard blaring from Rin's earpieces on their walk from the village to the aquatics center wasn't just playing to keep Rin amped up for his event, it also drowned out the crowd. This was Rin's second time as an Olympian and Haru's first. Haru, it seemed, had a lot to learn from his former rival. The shark-toothed veteran had even developed a swagger, Haru noticed, as he lagged behind and watched his friend strut across the perimeter of the enormous pool to take a seat beside to his fellow countrymen. Haru pulled his red and white hoody over his ears in a futile attempt to keep out some of the noise. He no longer wore he trademark blue or the old, tattered white jacket from his years on the high school swim team; for the next two weeks, he would be clad in the colors of the land of the rising sun.

Rin had cut his teeth, figuratively speaking, during the last Olympics. Haru, who at the time had still been embroiled in battle with his parents over how he should live his life, wasn't in nearly as top shape as he should've been and didn't make the cut. In Rio, the media had fallen in love with Rin. They couldn't get enough of the story of the son who was fulfilling his deceased father's dream. The sob story, coupled with Rin's bad-boy image and explosive temper was just too much for the cameras to resist. This time around their focus was on the newcomer, the water-obsessed phenom whose graceful, fluid strokes had mesmerized officials and fans alike in the qualifiers and who was poised to sweep the freestyle events. Still, while Haru may have been a natural born swimmer, Rin was the expert in the sport. Even as a kid, Rin knew more about the mechanics of swimming than even the coach and there was already talk of a sportscasting contract whenever it was than Rin decided to hang up his swim goggles.

Rin's motivation for swimming had changed since the last games. Now that Rin had fulfilled his childhood ambitions, had exorcised his water demons in Rio and was no longer under the long shadow cast by his father's death, he was really coming into his own. He'd been set free, he was swimming for himself now and he was a force to be reckoned with. Surprisingly, he was more competitive than ever and even more surprisingly, his relationship with Haru, which in the best of times could easily be described as combustible, had improved considerably. He no longer viewed Haru as a bitter rival, the dream-crusher whose raw talent alone was enough to threaten Rin's aspirations of Olympic glory, the trigger whose mere presence caused a resurfacing of Rin's feelings of inadequacy and explosive temper. The rivalry had always been more on Rin's side anyway and more importantly it had been nonsensical. It wasn't like he and Haru even competed in the same races. They swam different stokes and shared the starting block only for the relay.

Rin may have been Haru's rival, but Makoto was his soulmate, he was and always had been at the other of Haru's red string. The Olympic Village in Dubai was extremely secure. Only athletes, trainers and officials were allowed in. There was no hope of getting any privacy and to make matters worse, his time with Makoto has been spent almost exclusively in front of the cameras.

Haru scanned the crowd at the aquatics center in search of his boyfriend. He located the gentle giant sitting in the stands with Haru's parents, his own parents, the twins and Rin's mother. Directly above them were his old swim coach, the doting father-to-be helping a very pregnant Ama-chan to her seat, and some of Rin's old teammates from Samezuka. Gou, Nagisa and Rei were holding up homemade signs. In fact, Gou was holding up three of them: one for Rin, one for Haru and one for Seijūrō, although she had promised Rin she would wait until after the games before she started officially dating his former captain. What the once manager of the Iwatobi swim club didn't know was that her brother had every intention of snapping the strap of his goggles against the back of his swim cap four summers from now. Haru supposed that could count as progress as far as the over-protective shark was concerned.

Haru paused to look into the stands. His motivation for swimming was different from Rin's. He wasn't there for personal glory or because he had something to prove. He was there for something much more simple, he was there for the team. Not the national team he was on at the present, but for the one he had been part of back in elementary school and he was there especially for the tall, handsome worrywart in the stands who had once told him that swimming was meaningless without him. He shared a meaningful look with the boy in question, even through the piercing noise of the crowd he could read every thought as if there was no distance between them. He waited until the taller boy mouthed "Do your best. I'm so proud of you," before taking up the empty seat next to Rin.

The first event was the 400 meter freestyle, to be followed by the 100 meter fly.

Haru slapped the clock on the pool wall with his hand to register his time. He yanked his goggles and swim cap off in one motion and looked up at the scoreboard to see where he'd be standing on the podium when the medals were handed out. Then he zeroed in on the crowd, on a pair of watery, green eyes brimming with pride watching him.

* * *

 

 **AN:** The prompt was "watching." You can vote by "liking" or reblogging it [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75686217250/challenge-watching-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw).


	17. Endorkments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru enjoys the perks of being a winner.

It was only fitting that Haru's face was on every can of Saba brand mackerel in supermarket shelves around the country.

"It's creepy," Rin commented, "It looks like they're selling canned Harus instead of canned fish. It's like there are little pieces of you in there." He said, picking up the circular tin can in front of him and examining it. He turned it around in his fingers and was met with Haru's familiar bored expression imprinted on the blue and green label. He didn't even want to ask how many photo sessions it took to come up with this substandard picture.

"Yeah, the only one who wants a piece of Haru-chan in their mouth is Mako-cha--," Nagisa added, before Rei wrapped a palm over his irreverent boyfriend's filthy mouth to shut him up.

For a brief moment all eyes turned to a blushing Makoto who was suddenly hit with a bout of insecurity and began furiously wiping his mouth with his napkin for any remnants of this morning, in case Nagisa had seen something he'd missed in the mirror.

An exasperated Rin rolled his eyes at both of them and broke the silence.

"Gah! Nagisa, what the hell's wrong with you?" he scowled, trying to scrub the mental picture the blond incubus had just painted from his brain. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Some of us are trying to eat here," he said as he stabbed a piece of medium-rare steak with his chopsticks in annoyance.

Haru's endorsement deal had come with a lifetime supply of mackerel, much to Makoto's dismay. Now, the gentle orca had to add lead poisoning to the seemingly interminable list of things that kept him up at night worrying about the raven haired freestyler. Said freestyler now carried a couple of cans with him whenever they went out to eat, in case the restaurants they visited had an unexpected shortage.

Haru had considered this clause in his contract a necessary measure since there could be a very real possibility of a run on his favorite fish. Of course, he was solely to blame for the unprecedented saba craze that had swept the nation. Haru had done for saba what a certain American cartoon sailor had done for spinach. All the kids wanted some in hopes they too would turn into gold-medal swimmers.

The endorsement offers had started pouring in before the torch was even extinguished at the closing ceremonies, all products Haru had no use for: the sugary kids' cereals, the expensive timepieces, and what Rin deemed most ironic, the mobile phones. But if you asked Haru, the most blasphemous of all had been the proposed endorsement deal with a flavored water bottler. As far as Haru was concerned, water was perfect. It didn't need flavoring, because you couldn't improve on perfection. It was comments like this which prompted Rin to declare, not for the first time, that Haru was just plain weird.

In a rare moment of restraint and self-control, Haru stayed quiet about Rin's own endorsement deal catastrophe with the mouthguard manufacturer. The hapless manufacturer had tried giving Rin some prototype models to wear in their commercials, but he'd bitten through every single one of them. Of course, Haru wasn't in a position to cast stones given that he too had had his own disastrous television commercial. Haru's monotone voice had been ill-suited for the cameras and after enough re-tapings to make the director cry and openly question her life choices, the Saba Company finally relented and hired a well-known seiyū whose voice happened to be similar enough to Haru's to redo all his lines.

Clumsy attempts at marketing aside, Haru and Saba were an ideal pair. And it all happened by coincidence when the winning team went on a national tour of televised interviews and a hot mike had caught Haru at the craft service table in a green room demanding mackerel and stubbornly refusing to eat anything else. The Saba Company pounced and -- after a brief bidding war with its fish-minded competitors -- it was a whirlwind courtship filled with copious gift baskets of canned mackerel that ended in a marriage made in product placement heaven.

* * *

 **AN1:** The prompt was "water." If you squint hard enough you can actually see the prompt fill. Surpringly, I found this rather obvious prompt, hard to fill. This is the 17th prompt which means we are halfway done with the story. The link for those of you who would like to "like" or reblog for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76252967623/challenge-water-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw).

 **AN2:** In my head I can definitely see a FrFr short where Rin and Haru are trying to tape commercials for their product endorsements and driving everyone on the set crazy with their peculiarities.


	18. Blue and Green

When they were younger, back in middle school and all through high school, Makoto used to have lots of female admirers. He had always been easy on the eyes, but much to Haru's annoyance, as he grew in height, as his shoulders grew broader, he got even more noticed. He was tall, handsome, had amazing long legs and the view from the back wasn't bad either. To top it all off he was a genuinely nice person. His megawatt smile and his sweet disposition made him impossible to resist. Haru had even heard the girls in his class refer to Makoto as a perfect angel on more than one occasion. The braver ones even professed their love to him, which had made Haru's blood boil with the sheer unfairness of the situation.

Haru could tell these confessions made Makoto uneasy. The taller boy would become withdrawn and unusually quiet on their walk home after they happened. Haru had always assumed it was because Makoto was considerate to a fault and hated letting anyone down. He never bothered to ask Makoto what was wrong, because he knew his best friend would tell him at his own pace. Years later, Makoto had confided in Haru that what had really bothered him about these after-school confessions was that they were never from Haru. Makoto had been confessed to more times than he could count. Yet it was never from the person he wanted it be.

Things were so very different now. Haru didn't turn green with envy whenever a pretty girl mistook Makoto's kindness for something more. And Makoto, for his part, didn't need to turn blue and mope for days because he didn't receive any chocolate from Haru.

They lived together now, they shared a life, an apartment and chores and expenses. Still, Haru knew there was more to their story and he intended on writing that next chapter.

* * *

 **AN:** The prompt was "blue and green" and I used a shoe horn to fit it into this drabble. If you'd like, you can vote by "liking" or reblogging it [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75686157027/challenge-blue-green-user-jmetropolis-rating).


	19. I Appreciate You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Haru is an old fashioned dork.

Haru recalled the first time he'd tried to confess to Makoto. They were alone in a low budget hotel room the night before regionals back when they were in their second year of high school.

"Makoto, I appreciate you being here with me. Thank you," he had told him. Haru had been so embarrassed afterwards he went running, in the middle of the night, in his sleeping clothes.

Thankfully, Haru was able to muster the courage to try again and months later, Makoto got a proper confession. Things had progressed considerably since then.

Of course he'd already spoken to Makoto's parents, despite the unconventional situation, Haru wanted to do things properly.

For a moment he got tripped up with the wording. Makoto was still such a terrible cook, he'd probably find a way to burn soup. And even if his boyfriend wasn't all thumbs in the kitchen, Haru didn't particularly want miso soup every morning. In the end, he decided on something that was much more certain, an eventuality that was bound to happen.

Makoto's key opened the front door of their apartment. "I'm home," he called out from the genkan as he toed off his shoes. He placed his briefcase on the table by the entry way, loosened his necktie and walked into the kitchen.

"Mmmm," he commented as he took a deep breath wrapping his arms around Haru's apron and jammers clad body and kissing his nape, "green curry and chocolate? It's not my birthday," he murmured into Haru's soft hair, "What's the special occasion?"

"Makoto. Let’s lie in the same grave together.”

Makoto jumped several feet back like Haru was engulfed in flames.

"Wha--? Haru!

* * *

 **AN1:** The odd phrasing of Haru's proposal is actually a traditional Japanese proposal, according to my sources, although no one does it that way anymore for obvious reasons. Another way to propose is to ask the person, “Will you make miso soup for me everyday?,” which Haru didn't find appetizing.

 **AN2** : To vote for this chapter on the Makoharu Festival page, click [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75859076282/challenge-i-appreciate-you-user-jmetropolis).


	20. Friendship First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Nagisa is still a cock-blocker.

Haru and Makoto's yuinou was held at the club. This represented a compromise. He actually had to talk his mother out of hosting it at his parents' penthouse, a place that still made Haru uneasy after all these years.

The grooms-to-be wore matching tuxedos and the engagement ceremony itself was a lavish affair. Haru's father was now the president of his company. It was expected of him. The staff had needed to set up three tables in order to accommodate the gifts wrapped in rice paper.

Still, the soon-to-be spouses had insisted that the wedding ceremony itself take place in Iwatobi, the place where their friendship first bloomed into love.

"Pffft," Rin spit out his sake in a spray of fine mist when he heard the details of the proposal, his arm around a leggy blonde Haru had once seen on the cover of a lingerie magazine when his neighbor's mail had gotten mixed up with his own. "Haru, you didn't . . . 'Let’s lie in the same grave together.' Baka! Could you be more morbid? Who even says that anymore?"

Rin was laughing so hard at Haru's old-fashioned, corny proposal there were tears streaming down his face. "You're lucky it was Makoto, who's an even bigger cheeseball. Anyone else would've laughed in your face." He said, before proceeding to do just that.

Haru tried to hide his mixture of annoyance and embarrassment by glaring at his shark-toothed former rival.

As the festivities wore on, the newly engaged couple found an empty cloak room to hide in from all the well-wishers. Because every so often, Makoto, who loved kittens and puppies and helping old ladies cross the street, got a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his lips that told Haru he'd have a hard time sitting down without wincing for the next couple of days and Haru was sure as hell not going to miss out on that. They were just about to seal the deal with a much wanted kiss when Nagisa, who had a sixth sense whenever Makoto and Haru were getting together, interrupted them.

"Oh, Mako-chan, Haru-chan, there you are! Sorry, I thought this was the bathroom." The impish grin on the little devil told them he wasn't sorry at all.

* * *

 **AN:** To vote for this chapter on the Makoharu Festival page, click [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75859394283/challenge-friendship-first-user-jmetropolis).


	21. Sharing With You

As far back as he could remember, Makoto had always shared things with him. Soda flavored popsicles, half his bento boxed lunch, his video games. Makoto would share the shirt off his back, if he thought it was something that Haru wanted. Then there were the things they'd shared that weren't so easily quantifiable, a silent conversation, a knowing glance, a conspiratorial smile. And finally there were the things that they'd shared that neither of them had seen coming, a first kiss, a love confession, a marriage proposal.

So, naturally Makoto wanted to share this too.

"Nanase-Tachibana?" he asked.

Haru glared at Makoto and the orca understood immediately; they'd been reading each other's minds since they were children. "You're right. It does sound kinda like a law firm," the taller boy chuckled, running his long fingers through his own mussed up olive hair.

"Well, how about Tachibana-Nanase?" he offered. Haru bristled at the suggestion, pulling the covers over his head, more in annoyance than anything else. It sounded even worse when Makoto inverted the order.

The solution was so obvious that Haru's quickly waning and short to begin with patience couldn't take much more of this inane conversation.

"How about just Tachibana?" Haru muttered from under the covers.

"Eh? . . . Haru!" Makoto exclaimed, pulling his intended out from under the sheets with a smile that rivaled the sun in both warmth and brightness.

The raven haired swimmer was immediately engulfed in much longer arms, his cheeks flushed and nose pressed up against Makoto's bare and prominent collar bone. It was a position he knew well and found himself in often. He purposely took a deep breath, inhaling as much of Makoto's scent as he could temporarily store in his often overworked lungs before pulling away in protest.

Haru saw no reason for Makoto to get so emotional and make such a big deal about this. He was acting like Haru was bestowing upon him and his family some great honor by offering to join their ranks when in fact that wasn't the case at all.

Some things were just meant to be. After all, he'd been an honorary member of the Tachibana household long before he and Makoto started dating. Adding himself to the Tachibana family registry was just a formality at this point.

They had shared everything else. Of course he'd share his last name as well.

* * *

The link for Makoharu Festival voting purposes is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/75858833516/challenge-sharing-with-you-user-jmetropolis). 


	22. Biggest Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which the twins are all grown up.

"So thanks for helping me take down all this equipment, Onii-chan," she said as she picked up a pair of cymbals while her older brother disassembled the hi hat stand. "I can't believe the guys ditched me after our last set."

"Maybe those girls were friends they hadn't seen in a long time," he suggested, helpfully. Makoto, ever the peacemaker, tried to appease his angry little sister by interceding on behalf of the missing band members.

Ran rolled her eyes at her brother. "Give me a break, Onii-chan. I'm not a little girl anymore." She said this as she wrestled with a bass drum that threatened to topple her over. "You don't have to protect me, you know. It's not like I can't recognize a pair of groupies when I see them. Besides, I know guys are only after one thing --"

"Ran!" A scandalized Makoto implored her not to finish that sentence. As it was, Makoto Tachibana could hardly believe his baby siblings, the ones he used to help bottle-feed and burp and rock to sleep at night were already in college. He supposed his sister had a point, about some of the guys her age at least, but he wasn't going to admit it, either aloud or even to himself.

Ren took the large bass drum from his sister and paused as he passed the front door on his way to the parking lot to load up the van. He stared forlornly in the direction the missing band members had walked towards looking very much like he would've liked to have joined the other boys if it weren't for his sister's presence.

Makoto was not the only Tachibana sibling who was musically inclined. The twins had also inherited this talent. Ren played the drums and kept excellent rhythm. And while Makoto liked to keep his incredible singing voice under wraps, only a handful of people including Haru had ever heard it, his little sister sang her heart out almost every night in crowded Tokyo taverns. As the only girl in an otherwise all-metal boy band she was their lead vocal and sang most of their songs. She also garnered lots of attention with her long hair and striking looks and Ren took it upon himself to look after her.

No one was going to get famous or rich playing in the twins' band, but they had a loyal following and were evidently popular enough to have some groupies following them around. They had tried playing their own music, but people usually wanted to hear them play covers of songs that were popular on the radio.

At the moment the song, "Rage On," was playing round the clock on most of the stations. Makoto was familiar with the tune; it had been stuck in his head for a few days from the constant airplay. Haru had even caught him humming a few lines earlier in the shower, but tonight was the first time he'd heard his little sister sing it and she brought the house down with her stellar performance. Makoto loved watching his siblings on stage. He and Haru would go see them whenever they could take time off of their busy schedules.

Makoto and Ran sat on the empty stage taking a brief and well-deserved respite, having just finished packing up the last of the band's equipment.

When Ren returned from the parking lot with Haru, the twins shared a meaningful look, one that wasn't lost on their observant older brother or his even more observant fiancé. It was strange how things had turned out. When Ren and Ran were younger, they got along about as well as a sack of wet cats. Now they shared conspiratorial looks and the ability to communicate in secret.

Ren looked nervous as he ran his fingers through his spiked, frosted-at-the-tips hair and didn't sound too convincing when he excused himself to go look for something he'd forgotten in the van. Then there was the determined look on his little sister's face that made Makoto very anxious.

"Haru-niichan, I think you'd better sit down for this," she said when it was just the three of them.

Ran looked at both of them as she took a deep breath, contemplating her next words.

The normally stoic Haru sat down behind his already quivering fiancé. Makoto was as white as a sheet when Haru wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his face against Makoto's bicep so he too could look at young girl sporting glitter and red streaks in her hair, a ripped t-shirt, a jean skirt, platform heels, and fishnet stockings. It occurred to Haru at that moment how very young Ran really was, too young to be running around a large metropolis with no parental supervision. If he squinted he could still see the little girl with her hair in half-pigtails who loved to play house, whose childhood dream it was to marry her onii-chan. Not that either of the twins were so little anymore. Ran rivaled Haru's height when she wore heels and Ren insisted he was taller than Makoto now though it was still too close to tell and his spiky hair gave him an unfair advantage.

Ran was the sister Haru had never had and Makoto didn't have a monopoly when it came to worrying about the twins. He too fretted over them, though he wasn't as outwardly fussy as Makoto was. Despite his own nerves on the inside, he was outwardly calm. Haru was preparing himself to be strong for Makoto. He knew that whatever Ran was going to tell them, and Haru had a strong sense of what was coming -- after all, there were very few reasons that would turn a girl Ran's age so serious -- they would get through this. Still, he pressed Makoto's back closer to his chest. They were a family, all six of them and they were in this together. Sure, Makoto's parents would probably have a collective heart attack, but after they got over the initial shock, they'd be supportive, maybe even happy? Even so, Ren was so young. She had her whole life ahead of her. Why, just the other day he and Makoto were remembering when --

"You're pregnant?!"

Haru's stroll down memory lane had been cut short by the man in his arms who could no longer stand the suspense.

"What? No! Ugh." Ran gave her relieved older brother a look of complete and profound disgust. "Onii-chan, how could you think that?! Gross." She stuck her tongue out mimicking a gag reflex.

"I'm sorry, I just thought -- " Makoto tripped over his words, apologizing profusely while Haru pressed his own lips against Makoto's arm, suppressing a smile, grateful it was Makoto's size 13 foot that had been inserted into its owner's mouth and not his own.

Then Ran got to the real reason she wanted to talk to them and Haru was blown away.

"It doesn't have to be right now. You'll still need to find a surrogate, of course, and Haru-niichan would need to do his part. But in the mean time they'll be frozen in deep storage for if and when you're ready to use them. I just wanted to give both of you that option in case . . . in case you wanted to start a family of your own someday. . . ." she trailed off.

Ran tried not to get chocked up as she looked adoringly at the older brother she thought the world of and at his fiancé who'd been a part of her life since the day she'd first opened her eyes. "Think of it was an early wedding present," she added with a bright smile.

". . . But won't you want to have kids some day?"

Ran didn't ponder too long on her brother's question. "I'm not sure yet. I don't know if I'll want to be a mom, but I'm definitely ready to be an aunt."

 

* * *

 **AN:** Okay. I'm not gonna lie this was my favorite chapter to write because I want this for them so badly. The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76514603209/challenge-biggest-gift-user-jmetropolis-rating).

 


	23. Grown-Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto applies for a job.

Haru stared at the clock in the back of the room. He was keeping watch in the waiting area while Makoto was being interviewed by the faculty. This wasn't Makoto's first grown up job. After graduating from Seijuro, he'd gotten a job in Tokyo and had worked there ever since. Still, there was a lot riding on this interview.

They were back in the elementary school that they had both attended, where they had been befriend by Rin. If he looked through the window, Haru could see the old sakura tree in the courtyard. They were here for only a couple of days while Makoto interviewed for a job as a kindergarten teacher. Unlike Tokyo which had hundreds of public and private elementary schools, Iwatobi was a small town with very few schools to begin with. A lot was hanging on the outcome of this interview. If everything went well, they would be moving back here to Iwatobi in the early spring before classes started.

After university, Makoto had stayed in Tokyo so that he could be with Haru while he trained. But now that the hubbub of the games was over and Haru had decided he didn't want to go a third time, the way Rin was still chasing after more medals. Haru knew that he was the only thing keeping Makoto in Tokyo. Makoto wanted to move back home. He had wanted to for a very long time now, even if he never voiced his desire. But he didn't need to, Haru had always been able to read his thoughts. Makoto was considerate to a fault and Haru knew it was his turn to support Makoto's dreams.

He knew that they could always just move here, even if Makoto did not get the job. It wasn't like they had to worry about supporting themselves with Haru's endorsements. Still, there was the matter of pride and Makoto would probably refuse to move here unless he had a purpose, unless he had a job.

"Well. How'd it go?" He could see it on Makoto's face, he could read his thoughts, but he still wanted to hear it.

"I got the job!" Haru rose up to kiss his fiancé. He couldn't be more proud of him.

* * *

 **AN:** The prompt was "grown up." To vote for it on the Makoharu Festival page, click [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76026272203/challenge-grown-up-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw).


	24. Unchanged

The house Haru grew up in was in exactly the same condition he had left it despite having had no permanent residents since Haru had moved out of it to go to university, almost a decade ago. His growth spurts along with the dates they were recorded were still etched on the wall in the kitchen.

They had arrived here yesterday on the evening train and had both been too tired to unpack their things. They had slept in Haru's old room for old times sake and Haru supposed they'd probably take the master bedroom tonight. After all, the house was theirs now, a wedding present from his parents who had never gotten around to selling the place.

Makoto had already made plans for the garden and they would be visiting the home improvement store some time later today for potted plants. But for now they didn't have plans for any major renovations. They both love the old home for its character and for the happy memories it contained.

Haru was letting Makoto sleep in. In a little while, he intended to walk down to the fish market to buy raw mackerel for himself and squid for Makoto. He will fry it and bring it back to the room on a tray for a surprise breakfast in bed.

But for now he planned on staying put. It was still early and he was in no hurry to get on with his day. He was content to reflect on the past and to daydream about the future.

Just then, the noise from the sliding door interrupted his thoughts.

Some things never changed, he reflected with amusement as he reached up to grip Makoto's waiting hand and got out of the bathtub.

* * *

 **AN:** The prompt was "unchanged." To vote for it by "liking" or reblogging, click [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76026371511/challenge-unchanged-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw).


	25. Angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin goes to Haru for advice on his love life.

"Gah, Haru," Rin barked in disapproval as Haru walked up to the table and took the seat across from him, "do you have to wear that ridiculous shirt all the time?"

"It's a different shirt."

"It's the same stupid picture with your stupid disembodied face on it."

"It's comfortable."

"It's infuriating. You look like a fucking billboard. I'm embarrassed to be seen with you. Do they at least pay you to wear that shit?" Rin asked, looking around to see if anyone at the outdoor café recognized them. It was one thing to be photographed out on the town after a night of partying, and quite another to be photographed with Haru and his stupid shirt.

Haru shrugged. He didn't see what the big deal was. The Saba Company gave him free t-shirts and he liked wearing them, so what if they had his face on them.

"Makoto likes them."

"Of course he does," Rin responded, trying to sound calm as he resisted the urge to stab himself in the eye with his chopstick. _Makoto would like a venomous viper, if it had Haru's face on it_ , Rin thought ruefully. It was an urge he often found the need to suppress whenever he was left alone to deal with Haru and his weirdness.

It was an otherwise uneventful lunch between two long-time friends until the waitress brought them the bill and Rin started to get angsty.

They had both reached for the check, but Rin had gotten there first. They really were competitive about everything.

"So. . .," he coughed, clearing his throat and placing his credit card in the plastic holder, "How does it work exactly? I mean, who's the girl in the relationship?" He was trying to sound casual, like his face wasn't on fire.

"You're kidding, right?" An incredulous Haru asked while trying to put his own card in the slot and knock Rin's out, before Rin slapped his hand away.

"No. I mean, _um_ , " Rin licked his lips and swallowed trying to buy himself some more time and build up some courage, mentally kicking himself for not ordering more sake. "How do you decide who puts what when where?" He sort of rushed through that last part.

Haru gave Rin a blank stare, more blank than usual, "Tell me you're not that dense. You know how it works between guys, right?"

"I'm being serious, Haru."

"What? Do you want me to draw you a diagram or something?"

Rin shuddered, he knew just how meticulous an artist Haru was. And while he wanted to get an idea, he didn't need that level of detail.

In a rare moment of patience and loquaciousness, Haru tried to answer Rin's question as best he could, "It doesn't work that way. There're no set rules. It's whatever works for you. I was the one who proposed to Makoto, but I'm also the one who will be taking his name."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rin said dismissively because he already knew that boring, domestic stuff, "but what I'm getting at is how do you decide who tops?" Rin had his reasons, so he pressed on.

Haru paused for a moment, his hand frozen mid-way between putting his credit card back in his wallet. Then he came to his senses.

"Nope. Not gonna answer that. You sound just like Nagisa. Why are you suddenly so interested in my love life, anyway?"

Rin hesitated, then sighed in resignation. It was no use, he was going to have to explain.

"Do you remember Ai, I mean Nitori Aiichiro, my old roommate from high school?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"I ran into him a few weeks ago at a bookstore in Tokyo . . . we've sort of been talking again. I was thinking of bringing him as my guest to the wedding."

"What about what's her name?" Haru wasn't being facetious. He honestly couldn't remember the girl Rin had brought to their engagement party.

"Anyone can --, anyone with money," he corrected himself, "can have a smoking hot girlfriend. I want what you guys have."

"Is that your way of saying Makoto and I aren't smoking hot?" he teased.

"You know what I'm trying to say." Rin hesitated again, "If everything goes well, if I don't fuck things up . . . who knows maybe he'll want to spend more time together and then one thing might lead to another and he could end up spending the night, or something."

Haru thought for a moment. The fact that Matsuoka Rin wasn't as straight as he loudly and often professed to be wasn't exactly shocking news to him. He had long ago concluded that Rin took the same approach to serial dating, that he had taken to swim practice -- like he had something to prove, to everyone, but more importantly to himself. Haru had never understood Rin's deep-seated need to cover things up. Then again, the raven-haired freestyler had never cared much for what other people thought of him, it was a character trait that had prompted Rin to call him a "selfish bastard" on more than one occasion.

"Wait. You're telling me you shared a room with a guy you liked, who by the way hero-worshipped you, and nothing happened between the two of you?"

"Look I was confused," Rin stammered, "I was angry all the time. I thought I was supposed to like chicks, alright?! Baka! What do you want from my life?" If Rin had been worried about nosy spectators before, he obviously wasn't worried about them now given that he was raising his voice and drawing attention to himself.

That famous Matsuoka temper flared up and Haru did what he always did when Rin went on a rant, he tuned him out. As Rin ran his sharp-teethed mouth, Haru recalled the seemingly interminable bevy of beauties he'd seen over the years at Rin's Tokyo highrise. Nagisa had jokingly suggested that Rin install a revolving door to help the poor girls out. Maybe that's why Rin was always so edgy and easy to anger.

Haru occasionally tuned in to the conversation to see if Rin was done saying his piece.

"Are you finished?" He asked during an unexpected interlude.

"Oh, that reminds me, Nanase. You're always so smug. Not everyone has their love life figured since the time they were in diapers," Rin ran his fingers through his fiery red hair in frustration, "you two have been attached at the hip ever since Makoto was born."

Rin liked to pretend that things were just handed to Haru on a silver platter, that Haru had it so easy and that Rin was the one who always had to struggle for everything, but he knew as well as anybody that the event that was culminating this Saturday was forged as a result of a hard-fought war between Haru and his parents. Their, at times strained, relationship still carried the battle scars to prove it.

It had taken years for the Nanases to accept Makoto's rightful place at Haru's side. Even after they had relented and allowed Haru to live with Makoto in college, the fact that Mrs. Nanase had leased a two-bedroom apartment for them back then and insisted on referring to the spare bedroom as "Makoto's room" even though all of his clothes and personal effects were in the master bedroom with Haru's was a testament to his mother's stubbornness. The fact that she had since rekindled her long-abandoned friendship with Makoto's mother and both women had banded together and thrown themselves into planning their sons' wedding like it was their job, was also a testiment to the long strides Mrs. Nanase had made in accepting her son for who he was and who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"Oh, and that's another thing, Haru, you're such a jerk. Throwing it my face like that. You and Makoto, you're always so lovey-dovey. All. The. Fucking. Time. It's _disgusting_! You know what?! You two make me sick!" Rin folded his arms in a huff and glowered at Haru like he was responsible for everything that was wrong in the world.

"I hope that's not a preview of your bestman speech," Haru, who was used to Rin's melodramatic outbursts, responded calmly. "Cause if it is, Ren's going to have one hard act to follow. Maybe you should let the poor kid go first."

* * *

**AN:** The prompt was "angry" and of course I immediately thought of Rin. If you'd like to vote for this chapter for the Makoharu Festival, vote [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76423142380/challenge-angry-user-jmetropolis-rating-mildy). Thanks!


	26. Holding Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru and Makoto seal the deal.

Makoto's side of the aisle was already bursting at the seams and spilling onto Haru's side as the guests continued to pour into the Shinto shrine that shared a staircase with the Nanase residence. Makoto had made so many friends at each stage of his life that the high school friends he shared with Haru were asked to sit on Haru's side of the aisle in order to make room for the latecomers, a group of former roommates turned professional basketball players. Makoto and Haru's mutual friends took their seats next to Haru's guests, his parents, a formerly banished second cousin and a handsome young man escorting a girl in a matching headband who had finally found the courage to disappoint her parents.

The day before, Haru's name had been added to the Tachibana koseki and earlier that day Haru and Makoto's immediate family had gathered together for their official portraits. It was a traditional Japanese wedding in every sense of the word right down to the exchange of nuptial cups of sake; the only exceptions were the two grooms standing hand in hand at the altar.

The ceremony itself was exquisite, befitting the son of a corporate mogul, and could only be described as opulent. It was what Haru got for not paying attention and giving his mother free reign in planning the details. But neither he nor Makoto had been concerned with the minutiae of the nuptials, it was the marriage to follow that they were most looking forward to.

The wedding rings themselves were plain platinum bands indistinguishable from countless others, it was the interior of each ring that set them apart. The smaller of the two rings had a tiny emerald accompanied by the words, "It's meaningless without you" engraved on the inside. The larger one had a tiny sapphire and the words, "I appreciate you being there for me."

The phases had baffled the older of the two best men, who had been entrusted with the task of picking them up from the jeweler earlier that week. But then again, he had never claimed or endeavored to understand his two childhood friends, they were strange birds who had a language all their own.

At the reception, lifelong best friends held hands while they shared their first dance as newlyweds. When they took their seats, they were celebrated with speeches and toasts from family and friends. The younger of the two best men was the groom's little brother. The anxious young man nervously took the mike from his shark-toothed, fiery-haired counterpart as he stood up, fumbling over a folded piece of paper removed from the inside pocket of his suit jacket in anticipation of delivering a carefully prepared speech.

Despite his nerves, he instantly won over the favorable crowd with the story of how he and his sister used to fight over who got to marry their older brother. In the end, Haru had beaten both of them to the punch. It just couldn't be helped, he noted. He told the crowd that it was only fitting that today, Haru had officially become his brother but that it was just a formality, because he and his sister had always thought of him that way. And when he sat down there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

 

* * *

  **AN:** The prompt was "holding hands." If you squint, you can see Mei in this chapter. The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76253271401/challenge-holding-hands-user-jmetropolis-rating).

 


	27. Stress Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru decides it's time to make a deposit at the bank.

The irony of the nurse's request that Makoto wait in the lobby so that his "friend" could have some privacy was that the matter at hand would be infinitely easier with Makoto's help. Of course she ignored the matching pair of platinum bands they both wore around their ring fingers. Nevermind that Haru was instantly recognizable by now and that Makoto's face had been plastered across every television screen in the country whenever the camera panned out to focus on Haru's family in the stands during the last summer Olympics almost four years ago. The nature of their relationship couldn't have been more obvious to anyone with a television set. The tabloids certainly hadn't overlooked it. Although thankfully the media glare had died down considerably, especially now that Rin had come out with his own relationship and had taken most of the heat.

The first time he'd heard of a place like this had been from his agent. The discrete requests started trickling in shortly after he'd won several international competitions and broke a few records in the process. He had still been a university student at the time and had been offered an obscene amount of money for what his agent had explained was a highly sought after commodity from world-class athletes. Haru had not been remotely interested, he knew there was only one person in the entire world he would do this for.

Haru took in his surroundings as he entered the small, windowless cell block and sighed. At the very least, he was grateful for the strong scent of disinfectant which he found reassuring in a room like this. As expected, the reading material was geared towards a different audience. The movies were also preselected to appeal to certain tastes. Although he had to admit there was a surprisingly wide array of genres to appeal to every craving, but his own.

For a brief moment he felt hopeful when he caught a glimpse of the title of a sports magazine he was familiar with until, on closer inspection, he realized it was the swimsuit edition. He recognized the girl on the cover as someone Rin had briefly dated. It was just was well, he didn't want to actually touch anything in the room. Although the hospital lights would surely illuminate any remnants, he didn't want to take any chances.

He found it hard to concentrate at first, but in the end, Haru did what he had always done since he'd discovered this particular way to relieve stress. With practiced hands, he bit his lip, closed his eyes and thought of Makoto.

* * *

 **AN:** The prompt was "stress relief." The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76253156680/challenge-stress-relief-user-jmetropolis-rating).

 


	28. That Smile

Haru could remember when he was a kid and he used to head off to swim practice. Usually he timed it so that he could meet up with Makoto and his smile.

He could remember how he'd spend hours in his room afterwards trying to decipher the meaning behind that smile. Why he felt so drawn to it, why he felt so compelled to see it everyday. Haru would wonder why he felt like he swallowed a kaleidoscope of butterflies every time he saw it. _Was that smile understanding, appreciation, friendship, affection?_ Maybe even a feeling the older boy was not quite ready to name.

Haru yawned as he got out of bed for an early morning feeding. He was on his feet the second he heard it because there was no such thing as too much effort when it came to this. He walked down the hallway to his old room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes along the way. He looked down and saw that same smile again looking up at him from the crib.

* * *

 **AN:** If you'd like to vote for this chapter for the Makoharu Festival, please "like"or reblog [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76423073744/challenge-that-smile-user-jmetropolis-rating).  


	29. Out-Grown

Mrs. Nanase arrived promptly on the seventh day for the naming ceremony. She brought with her gifts and a box of tiny clothes.

Makoto's baby clothes had been reused on Ren and Ran who'd thoroughly destroyed them. But Haru was an only child and Mrs. Nanase, with uncharacteristic sentimentality, had kept every memento of her baby boy's childhood, including his heso box.

While the doting grandmothers had taken the week-old twins next door to the temple, for their first visit to the shrine, the newly-minted fathers had stayed behind and looked through the box, curiosity getting the best of them.

Mrs. Nanase had apparently kept every yukata Haru had ever spit up on, every article of clothing right down to the orange tank top with a yellow cat Haru had worn the day he and Makoto had ran away from the mourners. Of course she wouldn't have known the significance of this piece, but Haru did. He gave his spouse a furtive glance and while Makoto was never one to voice his uneasiness, Haru removed the shirt from the box when he wasn't looking.

 

* * *

 **AN:** Chronologically, this chapter takes place before the last one, but I thought the last one was a better introduction to the twins, so I think I'll leave them as is. The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76423034679/challenge-out-grown-user-jmetropolis-rating-sfw).

 


	30. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Haru's mother learns you reap what you sow.

"Again? But that's the _third time_ this week, Haruka." His mother protested while Haru balanced the receiver between his chin and his shoulder, needing both hands to slice through the ginger as he created paper thin, translucent shavings with a sharp razor blade.

"Haruka-kun, please talk some sense into them. Surely you could appeal to their sense of fairness." Haru rolled his eyes even though his mother couldn't possibly see the annoyance that registered on his face.

He was sure 18-month olds had no sense of fairness. The fact that they insisted on occasionally staying up all night had convinced him that fairness was a learned trait.

". . . Perhaps they feel more comfortable with Makoto's parents since they're so close by," Haru helpfully suggested. In truth, he too felt more comfortable with Makoto's parents.

Haru raised his gaze as he spoke and could see the light on in the Tachibana living room through his own kitchen window. Haru had slept over at Makoto's parents' house countless times as a child and now his children were too.

"Nonsense, Haruka. They had a wonderful time when you came up for Golden Week." Haru shuddered. The brief two-week stint he'd spent at his parents' penthouse in Tokyo when he was in college had been so miserable that he still got a little creeped-out whenever social obligation required that he, Makoto, and the children spend the night there.

Haru knew that as far as mother-in-laws were concerned, poor gentle as an afternoon breeze Makoto had gotten the short end of the sick. While he had been blessed with a woman he'd already considered his second mother, Makoto was cursed with, well . . . . Haru's mother.

Haru could remember all too clearly the last his mother and Makoto spoke.

_"Um, sure," the tall man had gulped, "we could bring the kids up for Golden Week."_

Upon hearing this, Haru had pounced and snatched the phone away from his pushover husband before he promised her the moon and the stars as well. For someone with the most amazing back Haru had ever seen, and Haru had been in competitive swimming most of his life, Makoto sure was spineless.

It was a lot like watching a newborn fawn, still wobbly and unsteady on its four legs, trying to outrun a seasoned and hungry lioness. Said fawn didn't have a prayer. Yes, Mrs. Nanase was an apex predator and she knew just who to prey on when she wanted to get her way.

Either way the damage had been done and the four of them had had to schlep up to Tokyo for some forced family fun time.

The twins had behaved abominably during that recent trip to his parents. They had cried the entire train ride to and from Tokyo, causing an easily mortified Makoto to profusely apologize to everyone in the crowded train over the sound of his still screaming children. And they never truly warmed up to Haru's parents during their stay either. In the end, they had to make up an excuse and left early. His worn-out parents hadn't even seemed that sad to see them go. Clearly, his mother had either mentally blocked the incident or she was a glutton for punishment.

"Did they enjoy the box of toys we sent them?"

"Yes. They liked the box. Thank you," Haru responded as he turned the oven light on to check on the soufflé. He answered his mother's question literally, although he knew that wasn't what she meant.

The twins had enjoyed playing inside the large cardboard box the toys had come in immensely. So much so that it was still sitting in their living room right now, falling apart like a diseased carcass. When Haru had cleaned up, putting away the toys that had come with it, the twins had not protested. But when he had tried to take the box out with the trash the next morning, the twins had made their displeasure known, loudly. It had been a meltdown of epic proportions; it had made the Tokyo train ride tantrum seem like a walk in the park. Consequently, it was a week later and he still hadn't been able to get rid of the infernal eyesore.

Haru couldn't deny that his children certainly had preferences when it came to grandparents. The fact that his mother either turned a blind eye or just couldn't see it, was probably for the best.

Having Makoto's parents nearby had been such a relief in their first frantic months as first-time fathers. He wasn't sure how they would've coped without them. And now that things had settled into a routine, he and Makoto could spend time alone together as a couple, precisely because they were always so eager to babysit the children. When Haru had dropped the children off this afternoon, he'd thanked Makoto's father sincerely. The elder Tachibana had waived him off and joked that he was merely continuing the Nanase-Tachibana sleepover tradition.

"Why won't they _staaay_ with us instead?" She whined. Whining was something his mother had acquired after the twins were born and she realized she couldn't manipulate her way into getting what she wanted. It was a sound that grated on Haru's last nerve.  

Haru was tempted to make a catty remark about the twins perhaps being able to sense that _one_ of their grandmothers had been vehemently opposed to their fathers getting together in the first place, but the thought left him when he noticed that the green curry on the burner in front of him needed sieving and the chocolate sauce he was making for the soufflé was starting to bubble which was never a good sign. He wanted to surprise Makoto on their wedding anniversary by preparing the meal he'd made when he'd proposed and a burnt dinner wasn't the surprise he was aiming for. Makoto would be home any minute and he needed to finish cooking before getting dressed. They had the whole night to themselves and Haru didn't want to waste another moment on inane chatter.

"Haruka-kun, when will you let their oba-san babysit them?"

"Okaasan, I have to go."

* * *

 **AN:** I don't know, I kinda felt bad for Haru's mom in this one. The link for the Makoharu Festival is [here](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/post/76514509041/challenge-babysitting-user-jmetropolis-rating).


	31. Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru gets a tad possessive about the things he loves most.

The twins were a perfect amalgamation of their fathers; they couldn't look more like Haru and Makoto if it were even possible to mix their generic materials together. The little girl was soft spoken, had Haru's soft, raven locks and delicate features. When she wasn't wearing a swim cap, she liked to wear her long hair in half pigtails the way her aunt used to when she was her age. She's inherited the Tachibana smile and a pair of familiar, mischievous green eyes Haru finds impossible to say "no" to. He's never been wrapped around anyone's finger the way he's wrapped around his little girl's.

Their son is a miniature version of Makoto, although Haru knows from first-hand experience that he wouldn't stay small in stature for very long. He's inherited Haru's eyes and grace in the water and his other father's friendly, outgoing personality. Their son likes to befriend old people and stray kittens alike on his way to their twice weekly swim practice. He is carefree and all smiles. Haru supposes this is what Makoto would've been like if it hadn't been for the storm and the dead goldfish.

Haru knows he's not exactly an impartial observer, yet at the same time he is convinced that they have been blessed with the two most wonderful children in the entire world.

He couldn't help the fatherly pride that bubbled up inside him, threatening to spill onto the crowded bleachers as he sat down with the other parents to watch his children's first swim meet. Makoto, ever the mother hen, was already standing nervously by the edge of the pool waiting to extend a hand and towel off his little chicks the minute their tiny fingers push the touchplate on the wall. Haru had witnessed first hand what an amazing older brother Makoto was. Now, he also knew what an amazing father he was too. They were Haru's, all three of them, they were his little family and he wanted everyone in the natatorium to know it.

* * *

**AN:** This is the second to the last prompt. Almost done. Sorry about the inconsistent verb tenses, I had a really hard time of it with this chapter for some reason. I hope it's not too bothersome.

 


	32. Valentine's Day

Haru supposed it was fitting that their surrogate went into labor then and that the next generation of Tachibana twins would be born on Valentine's Day as he and Makoto rushed frantically up the stairs and through unfamiliar corridors to get to the maternity ward.

A few hours later, he was holding his son in his arms for the very first time and he was overcome by the sheer magnitude of the moment. He thought of the long journey that had brought him here, to this very moment, to this hospital room, face to face with a tiny, ruddy creature he'd never dared dream was possible. His thought of childhood friendship and of a first love that slowly and steadily bloomed into the love of his lifetime. He thought of supportive parents, now turned doting grandparents, who had raised the man he loves and of his own parents who'd embarked on their own long journey and come to accept him and the life he chose for himself.

When they are older, Haru will proudly tell his children of their aunt's selfless act, of her supreme generosity. Her immense kindness and boundless heart rivaling that of only one other person. Haru raised his gaze to his husband, the taller man cooing over the bundle of pink blankets cradled in his own arms.

For as long as Haru could remember he's just wanted to be ordinary and -- not withstanding the display case full of trophies and medals that Makoto insists on exhibiting in their living room and the indoor swimming pool they've donated to their former high school so that the swim team could practice year-round --he's finally accomplished that. He's a married father of two living in a modest house up the stairs and across the walkway from his in-laws. It doesn't get more ordinary than that.

He can still remember that conversation with his mother years ago when she had tried to persuade him to leave Makoto by listing the things Haru would be giving up - marriage, children. It was a sacrifice he willing chose at the time and one he didn't have to make in the end.

Haruka Nanase Tachibana had a contented smile on his face as he realized he'd finally come home.

**The End.**

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**AN:** Well, that's all folks. Thanks for reading, leaving kudos and commenting. Special thanks to the [Makoharu Festival](http://makoharufestival.tumblr.com/) people for putting this whole thing together and coming up with great prompts. It was a lot of fun trying to fit them all into one story.

I occasionally post Free! stuff on my sideblog [JMetMisc](http://jmetmisc.tumblr.com/), if anyone would like to follow.


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